But I would like to emphasise one of the most overlooked aspects, a feature in which they lag behind almost all their global peers — seamless connectivity to and from the facility through public transport. The world over, metros, bus and several other forms of public mass transport are the only modes used by the ultra-rich, rich and the middle-class: How often does one see passengers jumping into a taxi in Paris or Amsterdam to reach the city centre from the airport? The convenience of the bus, the subway, trams and the metro beats the comfort of the taxi by a mile.
The advantages, including the reduction in emission footprint, need no elaboration. At Delhi’s T3, to cite one instance, finding a parking slot for a cab or a private vehicle at peak hours is almost impossible due to clogged lanes. If the airport didn’t have metro connectivity, one can only imagine how much worse things would have been.
In Goa, getting an affordable taxi remains a challenge. This sounds absurd for a state whose mainstay is tourism but in India, absurdities lurk at every corner. Taxis to and fro from the two airports in the state — Dabolim in the South and MOPA in the North — cost double of what they do in most other Indian cities.
So, you can imagine my delight when a young, budget-conscious friend who lives in Panjim told me he took the bus from MOPA and paid ₹250 for the hassle-free ride. Last mile connectivity, of course, is not a strength of almost all Indian cities, but he managed to get an auto and reached home for ₹300 as opposed to ₹1,600 for a taxi.
Inspired, on a day-trip back from Mumbai with just hand-luggage, I located the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) bus counter at the airport and found that I had just missed the last bus and the next one was a wait of one hour at least. So, I took a Goa Miles (a PPP app by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation and a private vendor) taxi.
Upon further enquiry, I discovered that KTCL started operations from MOPA airport to four locations in Goa with six 49-seater electric buses, with fares ranging from ₹200 to ₹500. The buses have hourly departures and can be boarded from four points in Goa, to reach the airport as well. The fact that some fliers can and do avoid the prohibitive cost of a taxi and lower the loads on Goa’s crowded and pot-holed inner roads sounds like progress to me.
That’s why I was happy to learn of the two agreements between Noida International Airport (at Jewar in Greater Noida) and the Uttarakhand and Haryana roadways that will offer seamless AC bus services from the airport to four key destinations in Uttarakhand and nine in Haryana. Passengers will be able to take these buses directly from NIA to their destinations, which itself is a huge positive.
It remains to be seen how fliers make their way from central bus stations or city centres to their final destinations however, since last-mile connectivity remains a challenge in most Indian cities. I am not sure how many readers might have experienced this, but the central bus terminal in Dehradun is a nightmarish spot for almost anyone and at any time, but even more so for heavily jet-lagged fliers, who might undertake the road journey by bus. So, how well the Jewar initiative works remains to be seen, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction, one that every Indian airport needs to emulate.
In yet another first, Jewar airport has also entered into a partnership with Mahindra Logistics Mobility to offer a premium, all-electric taxi service for passengers. A fleet of 100% electric vehicles, offering passengers a pickup and drop-off facility located directly at the arrival and departure kerbs with minimal walking distances is proposed to be available 24X7. Competing with the Olas and Ubers, the service is expected to be available through every possible channel — a mobile app, website, call centre, airport kiosks and through the airline one flies. But, as experts in the sector point out, in a cost-conscious country like ours, the fares charged by the service will finally determine success or failure.
Either way, the very fact that airports are beginning to think beyond the building and looking at other aspects like functionality and connectivity is a sign of coming of age for the Indian airport sector. What we now need to work on is behavioural change from those who can best benefit from these developments. Can the authorities, governments or private airport owners convince more fliers to jump on the public transport bandwagon? How long will it be before affluent Indian fliers begin to see the light?
Soon after he took charge, the Union aviation minister publicly proclaimed his intentions of bringing down fares so that the common man can fly, which sounded a bit ludicrous to me (free market principles). So, here’s my submission: If the common man can fly, why can’t the more privileged be encouraged to take buses and other forms of transport to and from the airport? Leading by example is the need of the hour.
Anjuli Bhargava writes about governance, infrastructure and the social sector. The views expressed are personal
