Devanahalli Dairies

It was our third trip to the new airport at Devanahalli in a week. This time what was different was that we decided to try the public transport system. What we had in our favour was that the flight for which we were traveling to the airport was to take off at 7am for Delhi! After back calculating and after being informed that the bus would take 1 hour and 55 minutes, we planned to leave at 4am. That, as per calculations, would mean that my parents would be in the airport by 6am, just in time for the check-in process. Since there are buses from the airport at every hour, we could catch the 6am bus back home! Simple? Well, heres what happened.

We waited at the Jeevan Bima Nagar Bus stand for the Volvo that was to depart at 4am. There was another Vayu Vajra (non-A/C bus) standing there which was to depart at 3:30. Finally at 3:50, the conductor came to us and said that his bus would depart at 3:30! So we got on, suitcases placed neatly on the seats. The ticket price for this bus is INR 80 per head. There were only 5 passengers in the entire trip. The Vayu Vajra bus went painfully slow. All along the route we were being overtaken by cars from either side. Yet, the bus was traveling at 65kmph!!! We reached the airport in 55 minutes. The airport was alive with the international flights still coming in/departing.

After saying our goodbyes, we searched for the bus BIA-S3 which would take us back to the Jeevan Bima Nagar bus stand. There was a Volvo that was to depart at 5am, so we went and sat in it. At precisely 5:07 the bus left the airport with 6 passengers on board. The ticket price for this bus is INR 150 per head. On the way back, the Volvo bus travelled with immense speed and was at its destination at 5:55 (48 minutes traveling time). We were back home by 6:00am! Not bad I'd say!

For all the information of the BIAL bus routes, on-line booking, offline booking and more visit the BMTC BIAL site. For the route map of the BMTC BIAL service, visit the official BIAL site.

The Bangalore International Airport - Part II

Well well well. So I had another experience with the much criticized new Bangalore International Airport. I had had my first experience last Saturday and it was a pleasant one. You can read about it here.

Now the experience I had yesterday was going to be a real test because I was to travel to receive dad on a weekday. Anyone who has stayed in Bangalore for even a day would realise the kind of traffic I am referring to when I say that we were to leave home at 8pm. The flight was to land at 10pm, so I thought that would give us enough time to get to the airport.

We went via the Old Madras road route. Thanks to a friend, I learnt of a new route, and avoided the jam at the under-bridge on the Old Madras road. We cut into NGEF colony and went onto join the Outer Ring Road beyond the flyover. From there, even though there was a lot of truck traffic, we were at Hebbal in 45 minutes. From Hebbal the new airport is a cool 23 kms. Since that lies on the National Highway to Hyderabad, we managed to cover the distance in good time and made it to the airport in a total time of 1 hour and 20 minutes! The best part is that the last 8kms is off the highway and in the airport complex, so is very smooth.

I once again found the airport to be very well done up. It looks an impressive structure and the movement of passengers is much smoother than the old dilapidated airport. There are a few things I noticed that could be improved, but then the airport only just opened up so it should be given some time to come up to full steam.

The journey back was even more pleasant. We left the airport at 3 minutes past 11pm and travelled with our windows down, enjoying the cool Bangalore winds. We went straight through Hebbal this time and headed to Mekri circle. Before we knew it, we had reached Ulsoor and then was the home stretch. We managed to make it home (without crossing the speed limits anywhere) in 55 minutes!!!

Now I must point out that the old airport was a mere 2 kms from my house, so if anyone should have a grouse about the airport shifting 45 kms away, it should have been me. But I believe, the new airport makes air travel more comfortable and so travelling an hour to get to the airport is a small price to pay. Lets look at Singapore and Malaysia (the only two countries I have been to outside India) and you will notice that the airport is outside the main city. In Malaysia, the international airport is 50kms south of Kuala Lumpur and it takes over an hour to get to the city. Similarly in Singapore the international airport is 20kms from the commercial center and it takes almost an hour to reach the airport there.

If Bangalore is to grow practically and expand logically, the citizines have to realise that the airport should not be in the city center. As responsible citizines, we should all give the new airport some time to grow. After all, no new venture is perfect when it is launched, there will be some teething problems which can be resolved with time. It is certainly a better experience than the old airport, where at peak times people would be packed in like sardines, much like the peak time traffic on Mumbai locals!

I would like to end by mentioning that I am not in favour of the UDF (User Development Fees) being levied on the passengers.

The Bangalore International Airport

This Saturday, I had my first experience with the new Bangalore International Airport. Now, this airport is no stranger to controversy. Right from the start of this year, the Bangalore जनता has been up in arms about the closing of the old HAL Airport, more than the opening of the new airport. As such, the public wants better facilities but they also want the convenience of not having to travel to much just to get to the airport. However, what people here dont understand is that the HAL facility just did not have any space. Already it was very cramped, and the growing air traffic would just make the pain of travelling a nightmare. So yes, it was prudent to develop a new Airport, outside of the city limits.

There are many positives of this move:
- It eases the traffic congestion within the city.
- If the airport needs to grow more in the future, there should be enough place around for it to do so.
- This is a step in the right direction. If Bangalore has to grow as a Metropolitan, it needs to expand to the rural areas.

Everyone knew about the project, and its progress. But it is only when the Airport was ready to be launched, that people (thanks to the useless media) started raising the war cry, not to shut down the existing HAL Airport. How can Bangalore manage two airports? It makes no economic, practical or common sense to keep two airports open, even if one is just for "short-haul" flights. People, knowing that the launch is near, should have prepared appropriately. After all, an airport, the magnitude of this one, certainly does not come up in a couple of months. People should have planned better.

This by no way exonerates the government. They should have planned and started improving the connectivity to the new airport, months in advance. But they were so busy playing power-see-saw that they did not find the time to improve the roads, and make connectivity to the new airport easier.

So what do we have now?
- We have a brand new international airport (some of it still being constructed).
- Some facilities of the airport are reportedly mal-functioning (ATC being the most important).
- Connectivity to the new airport is a mess.
- Facilities within the airport are much improved, and makes for a more comfortable and relaxing journey for passengers.

We were to pick up my mom from the airport on Saturday morning. The flight landed 10 minutes early, and she was out of the airport within half an hour of landing (in spite of having checked in bags!). We left home an hour before the flight was to land. Oh boy, we were going to be late! We went to Old Madras road, and then got onto the Outer Ring Road, straight to Hebbal. We managed to travel the 41 kms to the airport in 1 hour and 3 minutes, even though we stuck to the speed limits. What a relief. We reached well in time, and even decided to go check out the arrival lounge. The entry ticket costs INR80 per head.

The interiors are plush, and there is a lot of space. Thats a huge improvement over the old airport. There are coffee lounges and even a book store in the arrival lounge. We cant wait to see the airport completely from inside. We will be flying out in July, and hope to reach the airport early and roam around the interiors.

For a person who arrives at the new airport, all he/she needs to do is step out! Inside the arrival lounge are the kiosks of MERU cabs, Akbar cabs (heard bad reviews about this), Taj Hotels and Oberoi Hotels. On exiting the main building, one comes across the Volvo bus stand. Volvo buses run to major parts of Bangalore, with very few stops. To see the map route of the Volvo buses, click here.

On the way back from the airport, we decided to try the Mekri Circle route. This time, we covered the 40 kms in 1 hour and 10 minutes! So far, the experience with the new international airport has been positive for us. Next we go to pick up dad on Tuesday night. That will be the real test, as it will be during peak traffc hours!