This City Is Set To Get India’s First Heli-Taxis

Which Indian city is infamous for its traffic and congestion, so much so that its reputation simply precedes every conversation about it? Of course we’re talking about Bangalore. With the incessant flooding of roads due to bad infrastructure during the monsoon, and cars and bikes piling on top of each other, citizens are tired and waiting almost hopelessly for something to be done. In an attempt to somewhat salvage the situation, the Kempegowda International Airport will become the first airport in the country to offer a heli-taxi service to and from the city.

This project is to be launched in partnership with a Kerala helicopter operation called Thumby Aviation, and is set to start in December, 2017. The first leg will be between KIA and Electronic city. As it stands, reaching the airport from Electronic can take anywhere from two hours to two and a half, depending on traffic. With the heli-taxi, travel time is estimated to be only 15 minutes according to this report. The same goes onto say that “The service will commence with one six-seater Bell 407 chopper, and shall expand to Whitefield and the HAL airport in the near future. Bangalore has about 90 helipads across the city, some of which will be operational in time for the launch.”

While all this sounds wonderful, there is one element that stands to be discussed - the cost. The Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr. Jayant Sinha, has gone on to say “My appeal to the operators is to fix the price in a way to make it competitive with air-conditioned road taxis.” According to this report by The Hindu, price between KIA and Electronics City range between ₹1500 to ₹ 2500 for a 50 kilometer ride. The same report states that there are approximately 90 helipads around the city that can be made operational in a matter of time. Well, we hope this doesn’t remain to be yet another lofty idea but one that actually sees the light of day - for the sake of Bangalore.