BENGALURU: Within a few weeks, women passengers landing at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) will be able to opt for government-operated cabs for women, and by women. Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) will soon start a first-of-its-kind pink cab service exclusively for women passengers, which will feature women drivers, in order to ensure safety.
“We have given approval for registration of women drivers to the existing KSTDC airport cabs fleet. Fifteen women have applied already and we have given initial clearance. It is still in process and we are checking their vehicles. Women passengers will be ferried between their homes and the airport,” said Kumar Pushkar, Managing Director, KSTDC.
“I felt we should take more of an interest in these matters, and the safety of women is a priority for us. This should be implemented in around 15 days. We plan to have between 15 to 25 cabs in the fleet initially at BIAL. The pink cabs will have the KSTDC logo,” he added.
The pink cabs will follow the Karnataka On-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016. It will include GPS tracking and panic buttons. The cabs may be of slightly higher fare than regular KSTDC cab services, by `100 to `200, sources said. This is yet to be fixed, however. An external agency has been roped in for the operation of pink cab services.
The service will eventually also be incorporated onto the KSTDC smartphone app, through which a woman can book a ride. It is expected to be beneficial, especially when flights from other places land late at night.
Commenting on the same, Namratha Nayak, a techie who travels once a month to the airport for official trips, said, “The idea is good in terms of safety for women. However, it won't help to just have women drivers on board. In case of emergencies, they should be able to defend themselves and the woman passenger. They need to be given self-defence training and carry pepper spray.”
“As for pricing, I don't see why pink cabs should be priced any higher than regular cab services,” she added.