Bengaluru airport revokes arrival lane entry fee after backlash from cab drivers

This was after the Karnataka Cab Drivers Association, headed by Narayanaswamy, protested at the airport premises after BIAL started charging arrival lane fees for some private cab operators.

The BIAL introduced a new rule imposing a Rs 150 entry fee for commercial vehicles (yellow board) for up to 7 minutes. A charge of Rs 300 will be applied if the vehicle stays beyond 7 minutes. Private vehicles (whiteboard) would be charged Rs 150 for a stay exceeding 7 minutes up to 14 minutes.

The charges applied to vehicles picking up arrivals and those departing from Terminals 1 and 2. Buses were subject to an entry fee of Rs 600, tempo travellers Rs 300.

According to BIAL officials, the decision to impose the arrival lane charge was aimed at regulating the unauthorised entry of cab drivers into the arrival lane which caused traffic congestion and inconvenience to passengers.

A BIAL official said, “A lot of unauthorised private cab operators used to line up at arrival lanes 2 and 3 despite being given a designated parking space. This caused a lot of traffic congestion and inconvenience to passengers. Moreover, these cab drivers, not registered under any competent authority, used to charge exorbitant fares for the passengers for their services. Many passengers complained of inconvenience and hassles as a result of this, which prompted BIAL to impose the arrival fees. In fact, other airports like Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata already have imposed similar arrival charges for cab drivers.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Nataraj Sharma, president of The Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Association, said the BIAL should give the withdrawal of charges in writing, failing which the cab drivers would resort to protest and legal action.

“This is nothing but extortion in an indirect way. Imposing such charges will only hamper the poor cab drivers who solely depend on taxi operations for livelihood. After a strong protest by cab drivers yesterday, BIAL revoked the charges. But that is not enough. We will escalate the issue and take both legal routes and also protest if BIAL doesn’t give it in writing on withdrawing these charges permanently.”