Ola, Uber to have Booking Kiosks in 12 Rail Stations

BENGALURU: Ride-hailing cab services Ola and Uber will be setting up booking kiosks at as many as 12 railway stations in Bengaluru. The South Western Railway (Bengaluru Division) has apparently signed a threeyear agreement with both operators. The Rs 51-crore deal is a record for the railways.

NR Sridhar Murthy, senior divisional commercial manager, said this is the first time that the railways was raising such a huge sum through non-fare revenue.

"This is a three-year-agreement. Each year, we earn Rs 17 crore from this contract. The Ministry of Railways has appreciated this concept and is keen to introduce this in other divisions. This is being termed the Bengaluru model," he said.

The twelve stations where passengers can book a cab without the help of their mobile applications: Bengaluru City, Yeshwanthpur, KR Puram, Cantonment, Kengeri, Banaswadi, Yelahanka, Bengaluru East, Baiyappanahalli, Whitefield, Malleswaram and Hebbal.

Besides providing space for their kiosks, the agreement allows both Ola and Uber to park a certain number of their cabs at the railway stations. The City, Yeshwanthpur and Whitefield stations will accommodate the highest number of cabs.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has provided space for Ola and Uber to set up their kiosks on a tender basis. The Namma Metro is earning a revenue of Rs 5 crore a year from the cab operators. "We are not providing parking space for the cabs," BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola said.

Ola confirmed that it will operate from 12 railway stations and is already present in seven metro stations. Uber did not respond to the query.