The cost of booking Uber and Ola cab services from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has increased due to rise in the airport pickup fee.
For Uber, the fee has gone up by 23-40%, with the pickup charge for Terminal 1 rising from INR 187 to INR 230 and from INR 187 to INR 260 for Terminal 2. Ola’s pickup fee has also increased by 25% from INR 172 to INR 215 for the two terminals. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of KIA, charges this fee for providing designated pickup points for transport aggregators. Uber maintained that the fee collected from passengers is passed on to the airport and that it does not retain the charges.
“For all airport trips taken on Uber, a pickup fee is charged as part of our commercial agreements with airports. This fee is passed on to the airport. Uber does not retain these charges. The pickup fee has recently been increased at 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 trips inclusive of our commission, and applicable taxes, is shown upfront at the time of booking,” Uber stated.
‘Fare as per transport dept-approved tariff’
A spokesperson for BIAL said, “The authorised cab services operating at KIA are KSTDC, Ola, Uber, Refex Mobility, WTI, COR and Blusmart. All commercial partners including ground transport service providers at BIAL are appointed through tenders. Ground transport operators operating from the airport are mandated to follow licence conditions and permits issued by the transport department. On their respective platforms, they engage with drivers/partners using various business models, and the passenger fares are determined in line with transport department-approved tariff from time to time.”
Ola did not respond to requests for comment.
In May, BIAL attempted to collect an entry fee for private and commercial vehicles (other than concessionaires) entering the arrival pickup points of the terminals. After facing strong resistance from drivers of commercial vehicles, BIAL decided not to proceed with collecting the entry fee. The proposed fee was INR 150 for the first seven minutes and INR 300 for the next seven minutes for commercial vehicles, while private vehicles would have had the first seven minutes free and INR 150 for the next seven minutes.
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