Mysore Bangalore airport direct 'FlyBus' service now operational

by Devesh Agarwal

On Wednesday, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) inaugurated its luxury 'FlyBus' service which will connect the city of Mysore direct to the Bengaluru / Kempe Gowda International Airport in Bangalore.

The service will be operated by a 40 seat luxury Volvo B9R twin-rear-axle bus, complete with a pantry, chemical toilets, 2+2 semi-sleeper seating with 70 channels of in-seat video.

The bus will be equipped with GPS tracking systems which will provide up to date bus arrival information. The bus will also have a facility to display real-time flight arrival and departure information.

The bus will operate two services 12 hours apart in each direction. The bus departs Bangalore airport at 09:45 and 21:45 arrives in Mysore at 13:45 and 01:30 respectively. On the return, the bus shall depart Mysore at 02:00 and 14:00 to arrive at Bangalore airport at 05:45 and 18:00 respectively.

The fare for the service including snacks on board is Rs. 995. The FlyBus help line at the airport is +91 99722-13726. The main call centre is at +91 (80) 4455-4422. You can book FlyBus tickets online at the KSRTC website.

Visit here for a slide-show on the features of the FlyBus.

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Bangalore International Airport revamps cab operations, introduces unified brand "The Airport Taxi"

A revamp of taxi operations at the Bengaluru International Airport has taken place, with the airport operating company BIAL launching an all new fleet of taxis under a new unified service brand called “The Airport Taxi”.

Bangalore becomes the first airport in India to develop and offer a taxi service with a unique identity.

The all white taxi fleet will be at 2,000 cars comprising of brands such as Toyota Etios, Maruti Swift Dzire, and Mahindra Verito (formerly Renault Logan). 1,400 taxis were introduced today and the balance 600 will be added through calendar 2012. The taxi service will be operated by two existing operators, Meru and KSTDC, and one new operator, Mega cabs. The bookings can be done at 080-4422-4422 or 080-4747-4747 or 080-4900-7777.

Leaving airport operations is the cab company Easy Cab. Bangalore Aviation understands that the taxi contracts came up for renewal and Easy Cab's offer was not as attractive as the others and hence was replaced.

What is surprising is the inclusion of Meru. The cab company has a poor reputation amongst frequent travellers due to the numerous strikes and incidents in the past, which led to disruptions of service at the airport.

Bangalore Aviation once again strongly advises travellers to and from the airport to discourage the touts and use only the official "The Airport Taxi" service or the Vayu Vajra Volvo airport bus service.

Editor's note: Bangalore Aviation regrets the error in the original story which indicated Meru had left the airport operations. The release from BIAL did not contain cab company details and there was a mis-understanding, by us, on which cab companies continued. Our sincere apologies.

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BMTC introduces a new Vayu Vajra Volvo bus route HSR layout via Koramangala-Domlur to BIA

The great but under appreciated airport Volvo shuttle bus service of BMTC, Vayu Vajra, has received a new route - 7A.

Starting from HSR Layout in the south-eastern part of Bangalore, the route proceeds to Koramangala first block opposite Wipro, NDS etc., on via the ST bed 80 feet road (Maharaja hotel, Halcyon serviced apartments etc.), to Sony World junction on to the inner ring road via Domlur, then on to HAL airport road, to Trinity Circle, via Mahatma Gandhi road, Manipal Centre, Cubbon Road, Raj Bhavan road, Sankey road, and on to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).

Apart from residents of HSR layout, Koramangala, and Domlur, this new route will be great help to techies in the Embassy Golf and Maruthi tech parks on the inner ring road (Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Bharti Airtel, KPMG, etc.) who can now easily catch a bus to the airport.

The bus also goes right in front of major luxury hotels like The Oberoi, Taj Residency, and very close to The Park and Ista hotels.

With a maximum fare of Rs. 150 ($3) this is great value for money, and I am still amazed why more travellers do not use it.

For details of the route including timings visit the route 7A page.

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Online booking of BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo bus, and Bengaluru airport taxi information

December 3, 2008 update

BMTC is no longer booking via Redbus and Viaworld. For online booking please visit www.ticketvala.com.

If you find this article useful, before jumping off the blog, I will appreciate if you can leave a comment or your thanks. Also consider subscribing to the blog via RSS or choose to receive e-mail updates when new articles are posted. See the right side of this page.

The Karnataka State Tourism Development Coporation (KSTDC) is now the third taxi operator at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). According to Vinay Luthra, managing director, KSTDC, 100 new taxis, mainly Mahindra Logans and and Tata Indigos, have commenced operations.

At the same time, BMTC has done some route rationalisation and changes in bus stop locations to accommodate the Metro construction.



I am summarising the contact information for all the various taxi and bus services to BIA for your ready reference.

Bus Service
Without a doubt, still the most value efficient airport service are the BMTC, Vayu Vajra (air-conditioned Volvo) and Suvarna (non-AC) bus service. Both services are known for their 24x7 service, comfort, efficiency, and safety. At an average fare (to/from City Centre) of Rs.150 ($3.10), for the AC and Rs.80 ($1.70) for non AC, they are unbeatable.

BMTC has also tied up with Cel Cabs and SGL for Home Connect taxi service which offers a door pick-up/drop-off, to the nearest Vayu Vajra/Suvarna bus stop for an additional Rs.100 ($2).

For details on service, routes, and timings, visit the BMTC information website.

For the Home Connect taxi service call +91 (80) 6060-9090 (Cel) or +91 (80) 4299-4399 (SGL).

Individual Taxi Service
Next in the list are the three paid taxi service operators listed in alphabetical order. These are available ad-hoc from the airport terminal, but require an advance booking of 2 hours, from the city. All services are air-conditioned, GPS equipped, and charge Rs. 15/- per kilometer. A trip to/from the city centre will cost you about Rs.650 (US$14).

Easy Cab. Call them on +91 (80) 4343-4343 or book online at www.easycabs.com.
KSTDC. Call them on +91 (80) 4242-5555.
Meru Cab. Call them on +91 (80) 4422-4422 or book online at www.merucabs.com.

Shared Taxi Service
Next are the shared taxi service operators. Airlift and Zoom. These services require an advance booking of about 5~6 hours. Personally, I have had a decent experience with Airlift. I have no experience with Zoom.

A trip on Airlift will cost you Rs.340 ($7). A pick-up or drop-off at your doorstep will add Rs.100 ($2) to the tab.

Airlift. Call them on +91 (80) 4052-8888 or visit www.airliftonline.com
Zoom Airport Express. Call them on +91 (80) 6561-1999 or visit www.zoomairportexpress.com.

For those wanting to use autorickshaws or inter-city buses, there is a transit centre at the trumpet interchange. BMTC runs a shuttle bus from this transit centre to the airport terminal.

For an overview of parking at, and other transport options to/from, Bengaluru International Airport, please read my previous article. I hope you will find it helpful.

Please post your bus or taxi travel experience via a comment.

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Online booking of Taxi and BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo bus

Updated information is available on the "BIA Bus & Taxi" link on the top menu bar.

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Passenger traffic at Bengaluru International Airport down

K.V. Subramanya and Anil Kumar Sastry at the Hindu report that the domestic passenger traffic at Bengaluru International Airport is down. Short-haul domestic air traffic has dropped drastically, and shifted away from the air to surface transport like buses, trains and cars. BIAL is suffering the double blow of a slowdown in the domestic aviation industry which has forced increases in air fares. The new airport's remote location and 1 hour commute only adds to its woes.

The full report :

Passenger traffic, particularly in the domestic sector, at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has come down since June.

In the initial days after the opening of the airport, BIA handled around 172 flights a day — international as well as domestic. However, the airport now handles only 162 flights while the domestic traffic has come down by 1.5 per cent, according to sources at the BIA.

The passenger traffic did not pick up at the BIA during late August and September as was seen in other airports in the country. The overall annual growth of passenger volume in the country had dropped by three per cent, the sources said.

However, the trend was not unusual, as according to the global trend, September was a lean season for the aviation industry, the sources claimed. Although there had not been any flight suspensions to or from the BIA because of the fall in traffic volume, there had been some ad hoc or unscheduled cancellations of flights in the past two months due to “operational reasons.”

However, during the winter 2008 schedule, the number of flights would go up to 165 a day, the sources added.

Meanwhile, major airlines have been witnessing decreased load factor on domestic routes, particularly short-haul ones.

While the average load factor had been around 70 per cent, on some routes it was as low as 20 per cent, said a senior official of a private airline. While two private airlines used to operate two flights a day each to Mangalore, they were likely to operate one each, after the flights registered just 20 per cent load factor.

Similar has been the case with many private carriers operating on short-haul routes, namely Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

However, the overall positive growth at BIA, despite the fall in domestic air traffic, was due to the increased international flight operations from Bangalore, the sources explained.

In the last four and a half months, six new international air carriers had started operations in Bangalore: Dragon Air, Tiger Airways, Oman Air, Air Mauritius and most recently Indian carriers Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways. The total increase in international flights was around 230 per cent as compared to last year’s winter schedule, the sources said.

Beneficiaries

The reduction in number of passengers on short-haul flights has benefited bus operators and the Railways. The load factor on trunk routes had increased substantially since the opening of the BIA.

Anwar Hussain, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, South Western Railway, Bangalore, said while important trains on trunk routes always used to run packed, the load factor on Shatabdi Express (Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai) had considerably increased. It used to be around 75 to 80 per cent earlier, he added. On the other hand, wait-list on trains on important routes had become lengthy, Mr. Hussain added.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and RTCs of neighbouring States too introduced more buses connecting Bangalore with important destinations in their States. KSRTC Director (Operations) K.S. Rajkumar said the corporation recently signed inter-State agreements with its counterparts.

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BIAL and BMTC to cooperate and increase Vayu Vajra visibility

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in December 2008 click here for that article. Please use the Bus & Taxi link on the main menu bar.

If you find this article useful, before jumping off the blog, I will appreciate if you can leave a comment or your thanks. Also consider subscribing to the blog via RSS or choose to receive e-mail updates when new articles are posted.

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I received some very encouraging news today and kudos to both BIAL and BMTC.

Bengaluru International Airport Ltd., and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation sat down and have arrived at an action plan which will help increase the visibility and hopefully usage of the BMTC Vayu Vajra air-conditioned Volvo bus service to and from the airport, affectionately called "VV" by Bangaloreans.

BIAL will provide better visibility at the airport to VV all the way from the airport transfer buses till the terminal exit.

A display board will be implemented at the arrival baggage collection area which will provide real-time next bus departure timing from the airport.

BIAL will also canvass the airlines to put promotional placards or flyers in seat pockets and display informational videos on in-flight entertainment systems. I exhort the airlines to pitch in.

Despite significant loss, BMTC has been enthusiastically running the VV service, and these steps by the teams at BIAL and BMTC should help strengthen the service and offer a comfortable yet economical airport transport solution.

For more information on the VV service including route lists and timings visit the Vayu Vajra site.

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Taxi services to BIAL

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in October 2008. Please use the Vayu Vajra link on the main menu bar.

BIAL bound? No problem
Author: Priyadarshini Nandy

Booking a cab to and from the airport just became easier with service providers going online. You don’t have to worry about them turning up on time as stiff competition keeps these vendors on their toes...

After much deliberations and protests the Bangalore International Airport is finally in function. The only issue that continues to trouble commuters is the lack of infrastructure that leads us to the airport.

Thanks to private vendors coming forth, travelling to the airport isn’t much of a mammoth task any more.

Of these, Zoom Airport Express, Airlift cabs and Meru cabs are three of the only services to have come forward with fully integrated websites, www.zoomairportexpress.com, www.airliftonline.com and merucabs.com for consumers to use to schedule pick up and drops.

How it works

While Airliftonline allows you to schedule pick up and drops to and from the airport, all financial transactions are made directly to the cab drivers. The service has pick up points for users to choose from.

Meru Cabs has a more user friendly interface, allowing you to book cabs online and on the phone via SMS or their customer care centre. Payment however is again made to the driver Zoomexpress however, intends to take that a step further by allowing online payment for travelling to the airport.

The website is not completely operational now as the the company is still in the process of partnering with banks with card payment options.

“Once the e-commerce is set up, people will be able to use the website not only to book pick up and drops, they can also make payments as we will have fixed charges to the BIAL from every location.

So, once the customer keys in the location he needs to be picked up from, he can pay for it accordingly online itself. Since we’re focussing on BIAL as our hub, it becomes easier to fix a fee,” says TPRS Prasad, CEO Zoom Airport Express.

Zoom Express schedules cars every 30 minutes and users can actually check the next convenient pick up time and book their cabs accordingly. “Users can actually book taxis, keeping one hour windows for us to accommodate them. This way, even last minute scheduling is possible,” adds Prasad.

In comparison iT ADDA did a quick comparison between the three websites to bring out their best features.

Meru cabs: The company is not new, already operating in Mumbai and New Delhi. Their website is really comprehensive and has whatever information you might be looking for on the website. Once you register on the website, it keeps track of your previous bookings with them as well. Once booked, the website sends you a confirmation number as an alert either via email or SMS.

Airlift cabs: It allows you to take a cab either from their list of pick up points or from your home. Extra charges are applicable for door-to-door pickups. The website also asks for your flight details and automatically gives you the best pick up times for you to choose from. Again, transactions are made with the taxi driver directly as the fare is calculated according to the meter.

Zoom Express: While the website currently carries information on the areas covered, they do intend to start e-commerce within a month’s time. Once that section is up and running, customers won’t have to argue with cab drivers on faulty metres and fares as everything would be possible online.

“Since this is a cab share concept, we’ve been able to keep the fares moderate without compromising customer comfort,” concludes Prasad.

Source : The Mid-Day

Addendum

Please read my BIAL transport article and BMTC Online Booking article which details other transport options to and from BIAL.

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