Rich pickings for Bangalore airport taxi drivers

Passengers who landed at the Bangalore International Airport were in for a rude shock on Saturday as there were no buses to ferry them into the city. Taxi drivers seized upon this opportunity, saying: “No bus today, sir. Taxi for cheap rate, sir (sic).”

“Till yesterday (Friday) night, I had no information about this bandh. After landing today I realised there were no buses. I never liked the service provided by taxies. Now, I was left with no option,” said Ajay Ram, an advertisement professional.

In order to woo passengers, taxi drivers came up with attractive ‘combo plans’, wherein two passengers split the fare. “The number is much higher compared to the usual as most passengers have to take a taxi. Also, there are more taxi drivers as well,” said Salim Pasha, a driver.

But not all passengers were caught off-guard. “I got a message from a cousin, informing me about the bandh. Therefore, I asked my family members to pick me up,” said Arpith Agarwal, a software engineer returning from Delhi.

Despite the confusion, passengers were not stranded, nor did anyone miss their flights. Airport officials confirmed that flights were not cancelled.