BENGALURU: The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)’s plan to run shuttle services within the airport premises to shore up its revenues has been grounded. The only airliner, which used its shuttle services to ferry passengers from the boarding gate to the aircraft, has been forced to pull the plug on the deal now.
Stringent security criteria, which made it extremely tough to obtain entry permits within this zone for the BMTC’s drivers, has been cited as the reason. IndiGo was the first to hire two BMTC buses for its passengers in July this year but has recently terminated the services. Air India had also planned to place an order for 11 buses from the Corporation’s fleet.
A senior BMTC official told The New Indian Express, “It was a very good deal for us. Each apron or shuttle bus used to run just between 30 km and 40 km a day within the course of many short trips. They did not suffer much wear and tear, which happens when they run on city roads. While the airline paid the fuel cost, BMTC provided the driver alone. We were compensated with Rs 15,000 per day for a bus which earned us Rs 4.5 lakh a month.” It was also a big branding exercise for BMTC.
From the airline point of view too, it was economical as it saved them the headache of maintenance of buses and operational staff.“With Air India to planning on induction of buses and other airlines to mulling on deploying them, we were counting on it a future additional source of revenue for BMTC,” the official added.
However, for now, the plans have been grounded. “IndiGo conveyed to us that they have not been able to get security clearances for the drivers. They were initially able to get temporary permits, but are not able to extend it. Other airlines too spoke about the difficulty in getting clearance for the drivers,” he said.
Indigo was contacted, but it did not respond.