Hiring cabs a challenge for flyers at Patna airport

PATNA: Flyers landing at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport are finding it difficult to get a cab or any other means of transport to reach their home districts.

Patna DM Kumar Ravi on Wednesday said flyers coming from Delhi, Bengaluru and other cities can book the private cab for long routes by using their flight tickets as a pass for inter-district movement.

“People can also book the private cab in advance,” he said.

The transportation to and from the city airport remains a challenge for several flyers, who do not have their own vehicles. They are spending hours at the airport to get a private taxi only on higher rates to reach their hometowns.

Jyotsna Kumari (22), an engineering student in Delhi, said she waited for almost 40 minutes to get a cab to pick her up. “I booked the cab on Tuesday for today, but it reached late. I wanted to cancel it, but I failed to find another vehicle. If the bus services to Rajgir and Nalanda were available, there would be no problem,” she said.

A native of Arwal, Saloni Singh (54) said every time she tried to book the mobile-based cab, it showed invalid drop location. “I talked to its customer care and the person told me that they have restricted the movement within city. After waiting for an hour, I went to my relatives’ place at Ashiana Colony. My husband will come and pick me up,” she said and added: “I had gone to Bengaluru in February to see my daughter, but got stuck there due to lockdown.”

Krishnaka Swaraj, a medical student in Bengaluru and native of Begusarai, said his father booked a cab from home district to pick her up from Patna airport. “For one-way ride, we had to shell out Rs4,300 and Rs580 as advance payment,” she complained. “I usually prefer to travel by train, but under present circumstances, I think flight is safer,” she said.

State transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said, “If the private cabs are charging exorbitantly, people can lodge complaint on the transport department portal or send a complaint to the local administration. The matter will be looked into to check exorbitant fare.”

He added: “Right now, all our 5,000 buses are engaged in transporting migrants to their home districts. Around 2 lakh people are returning to Bihar per day. After May 31, we will follow the Centre’s fresh guidelines on resuming bus services.”