People choose alternative roads instead.
Bangalore, April 12, 2018: The increase in toll prices on airport road, National Highway 7, has resulted in people taking alternative roads like through K.R Puram and Baglur, resulting in a decrease in NHAI’s revenue by 30 percent.
Y.V Prasad, General Manager at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said that the public use other roads in order to avoid paying the high rates at toll gates.
“Earlier people would enter toll roads and then during exit they would pay the money, but now they enter the roads and then exit through the alternative roads which is causing us loss,” complained Prasad.
He added that people are forced to pay the toll as they enter the airport road and if they return within 24 hours, they get 50 per cent concession on the exit toll price.
Prasad said that in order to ensure the NHAI did not face any losses; the public had to pay double i.e: the traveller has to pay Rs 160 for both ways of which Rs 35 will be returned when the exit the toll.
Siddalinga S.B , Secretary at the Public Welfares Department(PWD) admitted that K.R Puram and Baglur had become options for the public to reach the airport more effectively.
“From Hebbal to airport people have to pay the toll while from K.R.Puram and Baglur, they don’t pay,” he said.
V Ponnuraj, Managing Director of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), , said that an increase in toll prices will lead to an increase the cost of the tickets, and that causes heavy losses to them.
“NHAI takes this decision every year and it affects us largely but we cannot do anything,” added Ponnuraj.
Manjunath K, a driver of the Volvo bus “Vayu Vajra” said that there had been a reduction in the number of users because the ticket fare had increased. “People who would pay Rs 125 are now paying Rs 155,” he said.
Shreeshan Rangayyan,a regular HAL commuter said that considering the number of people who use the NHAI on a daily basis, this latest hike in prices doesn’t make sense at all.
