Cab rides to Bengaluru airport become costlier by Rs 43 to Rs 73

Bengaluru: Cab rides to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) have become costlier by Rs 43 to Rs 73 after Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) raised the pickup fees for ride-hailing firms.

According to reliable sources, BIAL increased the pickup fees for Ola from Rs 172 to Rs 215, and for Uber from Rs 187 to Rs 230 (Terminal 1) and Rs 260 (Terminal 2).

Ola, Uber, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), Refex Mobility, WTi Cabs, COR and BluSmart are authorised cab service providers at the airport, having signed concessionaire agreements with BIAL. The airport authorities have provided the cab service providers with dedicated pickup and dropoff zones.

When the agreements came up for renewal in July, BIAL increased the pickup fees for Uber by 22.5 per cent (T1) and 39 per cent (T2) and Ola (25 per cent for both T1 and T2), sources said. The new pickup fees are for the next three years but are subject to change, the sources added.

Ride-hailing firms have passed the increased costs onto passengers, with Uber notifying them: "Your final trip fare included a pickup fee paid to the airport for facilitating this trip. You will find full details of the fare in your trip receipts in-app or on your registered email."

Parmeet Soni, a passenger, raised the issue on X (formerly Twitter). Sharing screenshots of his cab rides from July and August, he noted that the fare for the same distance had risen from Rs 685 to Rs 750.

Mustafa Hasan, another passenger, wrote on X that his cab fare to the airport increased from Rs 802.01 in July to Rs 869.92 in August for similar trips.

"For all airport trips taken on Uber, a pickup fee is charged as part of our commercial agreements with airports. This fee is passed onto the airport; Uber does not retain these charges. The pickup fee has recently been increased at the Bengaluru airport, leading to updated fares for these trips. For the purpose of transparency, we are informing our riders about the revised fares for airport trips. The estimated fare for any trip, inclusive of our commission and applicable taxes, is shown upfront at the time of booking to enable the rider to make an informed choice," a spokesperson for Uber said in a statement.

A source from a ride-hailing firm expressed helplessness at the hike. "It's like landlord vs tenant. The tenant has to pay increased rent or vacate the house," the source said.

The hike has not resulted in any change in infrastructure or other facilities provided by BIAL. "Parking for drivers, cashless transactions or dedicated spot, ⁠nothing has changed from before," the source said.

The increased pickup fee is likely to remain in place as no negotiations are underway to lower it, the source added.