Passengers suffer as airport cabbies pull the plug on ops

BENGALURU: Flyers  who landed at the Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday morning as well as those who wanted to head to the airport all day were in a for a rude shock when they realised that not a single taxi was operating for the day between those points. BMTC pitched in by operating additional Vayu Vajra buses to and from the airport throughout the day. Most taxis within the city too were not available. Services of appbased taxis alone were partially restored late in the evening following talks between taxi representatives and the transport department.

The government has also sought a four-day period to arrive at a permanent solution to the issues spel t out by the operators. A representative body of taxi operators has threatened an indefinite agitation if that does not happen. Government, private as well as app-based taxi operators unanimously decided to stop operations in the aftermath of the death of 35-yearold Pratap, a cab driver of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), who succumbed to burn injuries at Victoria Hospital at 1.45 am on Wednesday.

Upset over not getting enough trips, he immolated himself inside his car outside the airport on Tuesday evening and was rushed to the hospital. Airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Ltd, in the evening announced that app-based taxi services have been restored. A top cop at the airport said, “Things will return to normalcy b y T h u r s d a y morning.” KSTDC did not run a single taxi and a decision will be taken on its operations on Thursday, said Tanveer Pasha, president, Ola Uber Drivers’ and Owners’ Association. BMTC pitched in with numerous additional buses.

“We ran 15 additional buses on Tuesday night to supplement our existing fleet of 75 buses. Late on Wednesday afternoon, we ran another 35 buses and plan to run another 10 or 12 buses later in the night. Though taxi operators said they have begun operations by evening, it was sporadic. So, we continued operations,” said a senior BMTC official.