Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 5: In just three months, Bengaluru will be the first city in the country to have a helicopter-taxi (heli-taxi) service. Launched by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on Friday, the service will fly people between Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to Electronics City.
The operations will be managed by Thumby Aviation Private Limited and will start with two helicopters, a Bell 412 with 13 passengers and two pilots; and a Bell 407 with five passengers and two pilots. The fleet will be expanded based on demand.
According to Thumby Aviation chairman and managing director Gp Capt K N G Nair, the fares are yet to be fixed. However, plans are to keep the prices competitive at a cost similar to a luxury taxi fare which costs around Rs 3000.
A ride on the heli-taxi will help people commute up to 50 kilometers in a matter of 15 minutes. In the current traffic scenario, a commute by road will take minimum two hours.
Jayant Sinha has equated heli-taxis to the UDAAN project for regional connectivity. "The infrastructure is ready to land the helicopters at Electronics City. Locations in Whitefield are also in the pipeline," he informed.
Karnataka Minister for Industries and Commerce R.V Deshpande who was present at the launch pointed out that the service will be helpful during medical emergencies. “The city has around 90 helipads in multi-storeyed buildings which must be made operational. We will work towards achieving this as soon as possible,” he added.
A pre-launch study indicates that around 60,000 passengers pass through KIA everyday and 60-70 passengers are targeted initially for the heli-taxi service.