Buses to link airport, U’khand tourist hubs

Noida: Noida International Airport on Friday said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) for direct air-conditioned bus services to popular tourist destinations in Uttarakhand like Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Haldwani. The services are likely to commence as flight operations from the airport begin in April.
The airport, which is expected to serve people in a 150-km radius covering 24 districts in UP, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, is being developed as country's first transit hub with aspirations to develop it into an Asia Pacific transit hub—a first for India.
In Jan, UPSRTC said it will operate buses conneting Noida airport with 17 western UP districts, including Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Agra, Mathura and Mainpuri. Plans are afoot to extend the bus services to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal and Mahendragarh too.
UTC managing director Reena Joshi said both the frequency and fleet of the buses to be launched between the airport and the major cities of Uttarakhand, about 300km by road, are to be determined by assessing the demand once the operations begin.
"(But) this collaboration will integrate air and road transport, ensuring a smooth and efficient travel experience for passengers," she said.
NIA recently announced an airport taxi service in collaboration with Mahindra Mobility. This will be a round-the-clock service offering premium pick-up and drop-off facilities at the arrival and departure points of the airport. Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna authorities have also come together to form an SPV to start a city bus service that will provide a steady connection to the airport. Multiple transport projects are also in the pipeline