BENGALURU: Train passengers on a visit to Bengaluru can now easily find accommodation anywhere within the city thanks to the newly entered partnership between the Railways and the hotel chain, Oyo Rooms. The attractive red kiosks of the popular budget group have sprung up at the entrance of six railway stations within the Bengaluru Railway Division in the last fortnight.
The service has been launched at Bengaluru Cantonment, Kengeri, Yeshwantpur, Krishnarajapuram and Yelahanka railway stations. Whitefield railway station is set to join the list soon.
The present contract between the Bengaluru Railway Division and the concern Oravel Stays Private Ltd is for one year. Passengers stand to benefit due to the ease in finding accommodation while Railways stands to get an attractive income through this move.
An OYO staffer at Yesvantpur felt the business has been good so far. “We opened our kiosk on July 17. I help passengers book the online accommodation through my tablet. Though no publicity has been given, we have started getting four or five bookings each day. It is bound to go up in the coming days,” he said.
Speaking to TNIE, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division, N R Sridharamurthy said, “This initiative has been undertaken as part of our non-fare revenue generating sources. The Bengaluru Division stands to get a fixed revenue of Rs 16,66,000 from all the stations collectively as the annual licence fee. It is very beneficial to passengers too as they can just arrive in Bengaluru without any accommodation worries.”
Mysuru railway station already has an OYO kiosk while none of the stations falling under Hubballi Division have them yet. As per the contract, one kiosk measuring 25 sq ft needs to be put up by the licencee. “The kiosks should not cause inconvenience to the public or to Railway officials. It should not hamper free movement of passengers on the circulating area,” it states.
Urban Transportation expert Sanjeev Dyammanavar welcomed the move. “It will make the trip of a passenger to the city very comfortable. Those who do not have Internet facility on their phones or do not have access to Internet banking need not feel left out and can now avail of cheaper offers found online through these kiosk staff,” he said. In a station like Yesvantpur where one can also book Oyo cabs offline, it will help if Railways can club both these features so that it is offered like a package to the passenger, he said.