[crazybiker46]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

TRIVANDRUM

KeSRTC is supposed to have low floor Volvos from the airport from 6 AM till night during hourly/two hourly intervals to East Fort and some continue to Kowdiar/Sasthamangalam covering most part of the city and the main hotels.

Unlike Kochi, Trivandrum airport is not too far form the town so these services many not have too much patronage - but I am taking a guess.

The new international airport is situated on NH byepass but entry and exit is through a narrow road which makes buses difficult to enter and low floor buses means loss of revenue for taxis , its better to make use of private vehicles but people here find parking charge of 60rs exorbitant

Do KSRTC still operate SuperFast bus services from TVM airport to North Kerala?


I would like to share my first experience of using public transport from airport , infact it was my first flying experience too

I had to flew to Bangalore for a training and had to make arrangements for traveling from airport to office and back
Eventhough my friends in Bangalore had told me airport is far away i didn't expect this much distance (compared to TVM airport) and they told me to take bus

Stepped out of airport and i was greeted by tons of taxi wallahs. Saw couple of BMTC buses parked and boarded one that goes through Silkboard

Initially i was little apprehended about the time on which bus would reach destination , boarded at 7.20 and reached Silkboard by 8.50(being saturday traffic was less)

Pretty good service for someone like me who is using it for the first time and cost was 180rs

Return trip also i wanted to take bus ,but everyone said safe bet is cab as traffic is heavy , 500rs for a Indica that was producing rattling sound from everywhere and even seatbelt was broken

I guess 500rs is reasonable ,from what i heard meru cab would cost 750 , is that rite?


While going out of airport in morning seeing the number of taxicabs parked i was like this , Logans,Indigos,Indicas,Ikons,Fiestas and i even saw a bright red ANHC taxi

Is there any cab service that uses red coloured cabs only in bangalore

[TKMCE]

With the advent of Low Fare Airlines, the air traffic has multiplied in most Indian airports manifold over the last 8 years after 2003 was when Deccan made its appearance. This also meant that flying is no longer confined to being a luxury for the rich. For instance, I still remember when DN started services from Trivandrum, the Trivandrum Chennai and Trivandrum Bangalore cheapest air fares of the then Indian Airlines dropped from 6500 to 2000 overnight (not a joke!)

Creating a ruckus and ensuring Autos or local buses does not ply (which is happening in both Trivandrum (No bus/) and Kochi (no Autos) does not make any sense and is nothing but extortion - plain and simple!!!

Every airport has options of a low fare transportation especially for short distances. In Mumbai, without much difficulty Autos are available for short hops, same with Chennai, while BLR, DEL and HYD all have extensive options. Particularly impressed with the new management at DEL (GMR). I recently visited the airport for the first time after GMR took over , and T3 is wonderful. For a "newbie" like me every option was clearly sign posted and displayed in terms of public transport access. While I took a MERU to my office, on the return, since I did not get a booking in time, I took an auto, It dropped at the transit terminal for the airport in the highway and there was a courtesy coach by GMR waiting to drop me and many others who reached there by autos to the various terminals.

Somebody asked for the taxi rate to Angamaly from Kochi Airport. Autos charge 100Rs (if allowed to run) , the taxi racket charge 350 and no Volvo's run there. If this is not extortion, then what is???

[Deep Blue]

KSRTC started a Volvo service from the city centre to airport in MANGALORE, sometime last year. Eventually stopped it because of poor patronage (more likely, taxi lobby). Price was also stiff. IIRC 100 bucks for a journey of some 15kms

[Ashley2]

An alert fro usage of Fast track call taxi from Chennai Airport:

There is a fast track counter available inside the arrival gate from which you can avail service for the chennai city and rest of other places. But this service is very costly as this includes the car parking charges, monthly rental charges etc - Fare from Airport to Guindy will be Rs.400/-

If one comes with small luggage, he can come out and call the fast track call centre(044 2473 2020, 2888 9999) and can book a taxi. Remember you need to quote the boarding point as Trisulam Railway station. You can take the sub way and wait near the point it meets GST road.
If you take this way of service, you will be charged as per Meter only.
Fare will be approx Rs.220/-

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

An alert fro usage of Fast track call taxi from Chennai Airport:

There is a fast track counter available inside the arrival gate from which you can avail service for the chennai city and rest of other places. But this service is very costly as this includes the car parking charges, monthly rental charges etc - Fare from Airport to Guindy will be Rs.400/-

If one comes with small luggage, he can come out and call the fast track call centre(044 2473 2020, 2888 9999) and can book a taxi. Remember you need to quote the boarding point as Trisulam Railway station. You can take the sub way and wait near the point it meets GST road.
If you take this way of service, you will be charged as per Meter only.
Fare will be approx Rs.220/-

I would like to add a word of caution to all those who use call taxis to airport, (my personal experience)
1. Note the meter reading during the start of the trip, ensure "0"
2. Get the odometer reading from the driver and if you have time, please google for the kms from your place to the airport and also the shortest possible route.
3. Once you get down at the airport,dont rush to pay the money, rather ask the driver to park it in a place where you will not be blocking the traffic and pay only after you calculate the fare properly. dont blindly go by the electronic meter. (use the odo reading and your previous google know-how).
4. In case of confusion or you feel driver has over charged you, immediately call the taxi office and inform them. For sure the driver would be in the vicinity and you can demand a refund of the excess fare.

This has become quite common these days by taxi wallahs to drop passengers at ackward points and demand some money and immediately rush away. We may not realise it at that moment, because we are more anxious about our flight.
OT: The taxi which I used (fasttrack) was not a fast track owned vehicle,rather a driver owned car driven for fast track. The driver gave me the reason for charging more, because the road i wanted him to take was bad(airport road from madipakkam to airport, before metro works had even begun!) and he used too much clutch and had to spend more fuel I was like , then said, "ok you genius but then madippakkam to airport is only 8kms and you have charged me for 25 kms?", he started saying, he runs 4 such cars and has no need to cheat me and bla bla bla! It was night 8 pm so no night charges apply! End: I got a refund of 200 INR back!!

[zenx]

Unless you have too much luggage, taking the bus to the airport - especially in a city like Bangalore - is also the right thing to do - irrespective of who's paying. We could do with fewer cars on the road tot he airport. It'll help both congestion and air quality.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

...
4. In case of confusion or you feel driver has over charged you, immediately call the taxi office and inform them. For sure the driver would be in the vicinity and you can demand a refund of the excess fare.

Is the electronic fare meter and vehicle Odo not connected?
Are they are cheating us in this?

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

OT: The taxi which I used (fasttrack) was not a fast track owned vehicle,rather a driver owned car driven for fast track. The driver gave me the reason for charging more, because the road i wanted him to take was bad(airport road from madipakkam to airport, before metro works had even begun!) and he used too much clutch and had to spend ....!!

Fast track does not own any taxis, instead they operate them.

They are run by private parties and operate under the standard tariff rate of Fast track - Rs.13/km.

Good to know that you got a refund. I am extensively using them and never ever thought of cross checking them. I shall do it next time.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Is the electronic fare meter and vehicle Odo not connected?
Are they are cheating us in this?

Negative! They are supposedly connected. But, in mine, driver informed when boarding, that the meter is not working, immediately I felt something spooky. Therefore, I asked him to tell me the odo reading and asked him about the fare. first 5 kms 100 INR and rest Rs. 13/km. Finally for 8 kms he charged me 350! (and i managed 200 refund after fighting with the customer centre of fast track for 45mins) I lost a lot of time, that too I was in a hurry to board an international flight!

Fast track donot won any taxis they operate.
They are run by private pasties and operate under the standard tariff rate of Fast track - Rs.13/km.
Good to know that you got refund. I am extensively using them and never ever thought of cross checking them. I shall do it next time.

always double check, espcially when taking fast track! other operators are not any better but atleast not this worse! The electronic meter is connected to odo and to a GPS device, but many drivers switch it off or play with the electronics and report to the company as faulty meter! This is not the first time, even my uncle had a similar experience, and that time it was not an airport drop too! Mostly they think people going to airport/railway station are easy targets, as they would be in a hurry and not be in a mood to argue.

[TKMCE]

Compared to the interesting exploits of Fast Track drivers at Chennai, let me relate an opposite experience at Delhi T3. My first visit to T3. There is a very clear signboard just before you exit the arrival terminal detailing all the various transport options from the airport including parking and meter charges for the Prepaid (which are Meru and Mega Cabs). I joined the Mega Cabs que for the ride to Gurgaon (my first visit to Gurgaon as well). The meter did not start after I got in, the driver pulled ahead of the rank so as not to obstruct following taxis and did his best but it would not work. He asked if I was okay for a manual bill and I asked him to give the rates. His version and what the airport sign board said tallied. The distance he quoted as per the odo was correct (I had checked the approximate distance earlier) and he went out of the way to locate the office where I as going ,asking people multiple times. You say first impression is the best impression and full marks to both GMR and Mega Cabs. On the return I took an Auto to the public transport terminal and took the courtsey coach (again info on this was clearly displayed at arrivals).
Well done GMR

[georgev]

KOCHI

Is there a Bus station/stop inside CIAL ? If so where ?

Other than the low floor city shuttle buses do we get buses direct to say Kottayam, Trichur, Pathanamthitta etc...

What will be approx charges

thanks

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

.

CHENNAI earlier used to have a rattle trap mini bus service by the local transport corporation.

MUMBAI has a few BEST services coming into the domestic terminal but I guess it is for eveyone EXCEPT the air traveller .

CHENNAI - I use Volvo114 or 70 to get to Ashok Pillar ; excellent ride at 35 bucks

MUMBAI - I use 312/321/322/330/384 to get to Vile Parle and then go wherever I want by train;ride is rough and costs 6 bucks

both the above options are recommended only if you have only hand baggage

[TKMCE]

Kochi

The bus stop is just outside ther domestic arrival terminal (to the left when exiting from the terminal. The Volvo bus timings are displayed outside. Keep in mind some periods the waits can beworth upto 90 min so it is not worth it although there are departures every 30 min from 11 Am to 2 PM. Unlike BLR where the minimum charge is 125 (or higher) if you travel 1 km or 10 , Kerala SRTC is more democratic (and hence loss making). Minimum charge is only 10 Rs to travel 5 odd kms to Athani in the highwway and then rise not by 10 -20 Rs as in BLR but in multiples of 4-5 Rs per fare stage!!! The BLR model is followed instead by the taxi wallahs as they have a min charge of 20 Kms so a trip to Aluva will cost 35 by Volvo and 350 by taxi!!!

In short CIAL has never heard of go green intitiative, most people are forced to bring their own cars!!!!

There are a few local KSRTC buses to place like Cherthala or Chalakuudy but there are mostly at office timings to cater to the airport staff. There are also a few private buses renning on the road which passes the airport entrance turn off 1 km from the terminal.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Fast track does not own any taxis, instead they operate them.

As far as I know none of the organized taxi services own any of the taxis operated by them (Meru, Mega, Easy, Kolkata...). It makes business sense not to do so.

[alpha1]

Ah!
No one mentioned about the DELHI METRO!

Starts from New Delhi Railway station, goes through Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Aerocity, Intl Airport to Dwarka.

Absolute delight to cut through Delhi's traffic. Journey from New Delhi Railway station to International Airport takes about 18 minutes.

Reliance Metro

I am not sure about Domestic terminal, however, there is a a/c Bus service from International Terminal to Domestic - for about Rs 25-50, and again takes 10 mins.


Can anyone here tell how far is Aerocity from the Domestic Terminal?

[DWind]

And Nobody mentioned using Chennai Suburban EMU. Until Delhi Metro, Chennai Airport was closest to being connected by Train. It is still a pain now to cross over to the parking lot, GST road to get a train, but it is the cheapest (and probably fastest depending on time of the day) way to reach your destination provided it is close to a Railway station and you are travelling light.