Stranded after touchdown, cabbies fleece at RGI

HYDERABAD: The lack of affordable and frequent transport facilities connecting the Hyderabad airport to the rest of the city has irked many passengers, who are left at the mercy of expensive private cab aggregators to reach their respective destinations.

“Despite the fact that there is the

Outer Ring Road

(ORR) which directly connects the airport and Gachibowli, I am forced to pay more than ?850 for a ride to my apartment in

Gachibowli

from RGIA. The main reason for the high fares is the high parking fee charged at the airport which is above ?200,” said Ankith M, a resident of Gachibowli.

While the high fares being charged has emerged as the top concern, the wait-time for cabs has also gone up by more than 10 minutes, say commuters.

Another commuter

Gourav Gupta

said “It has become very costly to get a private cab from the airport to my home. The available pre-paid taxi service always reports non-availability of cabs. RGIA authorities must consider reducing the parking fee for cabs or doing away with it entirely, at the airport to ease commuters woes.”

Commuters now point to the opening of the Metro line-—between

Biodiversity Park

and Shamshabad airport, as one of the only solutions to the issue. The airport Metro line, which will be part of the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, will be an elevated corridor which will allow passengers to travel at an average speeds of 100 km/hr.

“Building low-cost connectivity between the Hyderabad airport and other localities in the city is the need of the hour. Many times, even with long wait times, the private cab drivers cancel the trip at the last minute and commuters are forced to pay the cancellation fee.

“The pre-paid taxi services, meanwhile, is marked by nonavailability of cabs at most times of the day.

There is an urgent need to introduce a low-cost, reliable transport service at the airport,” said S Kiran Rao, a resident of Begumpet.