There is no longer a charge for picking up friends, relatives or acquaintances from the pick-up routes upon arrival at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Hours after Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which runs KIA, introduced an entry fee to access the arrival pick-up lanes at both Terminals 1 and 2, the company has suspended the move following protests, TOI reported.
Initially, there was some resistance from a section of the riding community, which led BIAL to temporarily halt the collection of fees. However, a source within BIAL clarified that taxi aggregators and airport taxi operators, who have their own designated lanes, are exempt from this new fee.
Private vehicles previously did not have to pay for the first seven minutes of access to the collection lanes, but had to pay a fee of INR 150 for the subsequent seven minutes. Commercial vehicles, on the other hand, were charged INR 150 for the first seven minutes and INR 300 for the subsequent seven minutes. Buses had to pay INR 600, and Tempo Travelers had to pay INR 300. If a ticket is lost, a flat fee of INR 600 applied.
Vehicles left unattended or left in the pickup area for more than 15 minutes were required to be towed to the police station at the owner’s expense. According to a report, “Vehicles with white license plates are classified as ‘private vehicles’. Those with yellow license plates, self-driving yellow license plates and EV commercial vehicles are categorized as ‘commercial vehicles.’
Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association, criticized the new fee and told TOI, “Passengers are already paying toll at the Sadahalli gate to reach the airport. BIAL charges a user fee, and now they have an entry fee This is against the interest of passengers.”
In a separate initiative to improve road safety on Kempegowda International Airport Road, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has installed speed trap cameras due to an increase in road accidents, mainly caused by over-speeding. These cameras automatically detect speeding violations and issue fines. The legal speed limit on this road is 80 km per hour, and drivers who exceed this limit will be fined for speeding.
