If you have lived in Bengaluru for a while now, you would know that the city's traffic situation is one of the best conversation starters. People often ask you how you could have such high levels of patience when you tell them that you have to travel from the Bengaluru international airport to Electronic City. However, those woes could soon be a thing of the past as Bengaluru is launching its first helicopter taxi service from the international airport to Electronic City.
The heli-taxi service is set to begin operation in three months and it is likely to cover the 55-km stretch in about 15 minutes. The announcement regarding the service was made by Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha on Friday, August 4.
"We hope that Bengaluru will lead the way for other cities to adopt such services," Business Standard quoted Sinha as saying. "Travel will be seamless and there will be no need to fight traffic. My appeal to the operators is to fix the price in a way that the heli-taxi service remains competitive."
Sinha also spoke about Brazil and said that the heli-taxis have been doing well in São Paulo, a city similar to Bengaluru. "In São Paulo, Brazil, a city similar in size to Bengaluru, there are 300 helicopters operating as heli-taxis," he said.
While the exact fare per passenger is yet to be determined, it is likely to be fixed on the basis of how many passengers use the service. Sinha believes that the price would eventually be in tune with the fares of the air-conditioned cabs once the service becomes fully operational. Meanwhile, the Bengaluru international airport is a busy one and operators hope that the heli-taxi finds at least 70-80 passengers per day.
For now, the heli-taxis will serve the Electronic City zone, but the service may be expanded to other areas in case the first phase is successful. Areas likely to get the service are Whitefield, HAL airport and also the areas with high-rise buildings with roof-top helipads.
The Centre has been mulling helicopter services in various cities with an open-sky policy that permits helicopters to fly below 5,000 feet without a flight plan.
