After crackdown at Bengaluru airport, taxi touts shift their hunting ground | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: The crackdown on illegal taxi operators and their touts at Terminal 1 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has only pushed the cabbie cartels from the arrival area to the departure area, a reality check by TOI has revealed.This reporter visited T1 around 1pm Thursday and found that the arrival area was free of illegal taxi operators and their touts accosting passengers. The area appeared relatively disciplined, raising hopes that the airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited’s crackdown on illegal cabbie cartels, to ensure that passengers use only authorised cab aggregators and others, was yielding fruit. However, when the reporter approached the departure area, which is next to the arrival gates, the scene changed. Several cab drivers, who had just dropped off departing passengers and were not attached to any taxi aggregator, were seen hovering around, actively scouting for travellers exiting the arrival gates. The fact that the departure area is not segregated from the arrival area means arriving passengers are spared the touts’ jostle. Walking from the arrival side towards the departure area, this reporter was quickly approached by a few touts. “Madam, Etios car… drop beka?” asked a cabbie wearing a yellow shirt and brown trousers. When the destination “Yelahanka” was mentioned, the driver immediately picked up the luggage and urged haste. “Let’s go madam, come fast — only 3 minutes left,” he said. Once inside the cab, he quoted a fare of Rs 850. When told that Ola and Uber were showing fares of around Rs 700, the driver responded that the toll and “other charges” were included. The reporter declined to pay the fare and alighted from the cab. Within minutes, another cabbie offered a sedan ride to Yelahanka for Rs 750. Similar approaches continued for nearly 5 minutes, with drivers and their agents repeatedly stressing urgency. Asked why passengers were being rushed to board within 2-3 minutes, one cabbie explained that time was running out. Questioned further, he said, “Madam, we can only stay for 8 minutes at the drop bay. In that time, we must find another passenger. Otherwise, we lose money on fuel and waiting.” Asked about the airport authorities’ crackdown on illegal cab operations, he nonchalantly said, “BIAL makes rules, but we know how to dodge them. If they really wanted to stop touting, they should increase the penalty. We are ready to pay that too. Why should they completely stop us?” Another person, who identified himself as Lokesh M and who was offering pick-up rides for passengers, joined the conversation. “Who will walk 800 metres to a private pre-booked car parking? Some of us have regular customers we are tied up with. Why will we allow them to walk so much?” he said, admitting that the illegal cab operators are costlier because the tout will have to be paid Rs 100 “commission” per ride. An airport personnel at the spot said they can do little to stop the belligerent cabbies from picking up arriving passengers. The reality check suggests that while BIAL’s measures have reduced visible touting at arrivals, enforcement gaps remain — particularly at departure levels — allowing illegal solicitation to continue, albeit in a more discreet and adaptive form.