Hahahah... how unlivable can this city be?
I need to catch a 6 am flight tomorrow and have been trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to the new Bangalore International airport. I need to get there no later than 5 am, which means I need to leave at about 3:30 am from where I stay (JP Nagar).
The earliest BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo Service bus from Jayanagar IVth block is 4am, while the earliest from BTM Layout is 4:30. For obviously reasons, I cant take either.
I called up BMTC airport kiosk to find out other options, and they said that buses from Majestic will leave at 3:00am, 3:30 and 3:55. Excellent.
But having past experience with the likes of BMTC I called up the Kempegowda Bus Stand to cross check. These guys had a different story. They said between 12:00 am and 4 am, Vajra buses are every hour only. So no buses at 3:30 and 3:55. Good thing I cross checked.
Armed with this info, I called up Celcabs which is the official feeder service for BIAL buses and they said there are no buses from Majestic before 6 am!
(On a side note, I was surprised how helpful the guys were. They refused to take a booking unless I was quite sure that I would get a bus at 3:00 am. Which of course I was not.)
Then I started checking the net for information on traveling on the Volvos at night and chanced upon the scanned schedules of the BIAL service in BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo Service to Airport (BIAL) Timings and Schedule, which bears out what Celcabs said.
Finally, I thought I would call up the special BMTC number given for Route 9 on the last scanned schedule page to cross check all the info yet again. The first number is always busy. The second goes to someone's residence!
BMTC, I bow down before your superior service.
Tomorrow I will take my trusted cab service, Easycabs to the airport and hang the expense.
Welcome all to the armpit of the world: Namma Bangaluru.
PS: Big thanks to Vinay for taking the huge trouble of scanning and posting the BMTC Vajra schedules!
3 comments:
You live in a 3rd world city when you pay rs 1000 for a taxi ride to the airport, and rs 4000 for the plane ride!
I've always used Vayu Vajra (BMTC volvo).
Usually take the bus from the starting station of the route. They follow the timings mentioned in the BMTC website(bmtcinfo.com). Till date I've never been disappointed.
Of course cabs are better if you don't want to wait at the airport. But then you pay around 7 times the money.
Exactly what I was thinking now. Its been 2 yrs since this post and Taxi travel to airport costs a min of Rs 650 (taxiforsure). Buses still do not ply at 3 am. Wondering and hoping for a cheaper way to get to the Airport.
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