Chennai airport gets more electric buggies to ferry passengers to Metro, pickup point
But passengers are not convinced that this would fully resolve the issues and have asked the officials to bring back pickup point to near exit gate
New electric buggies
CHENNAI: The Chennai airport has increased its fleet of free, battery operated vehicles to 22 from 9 to reduce the wait time for passengers and ease transit across terminals and facilities. This comes as a big relief for passengers, who often had to wait for a long period to get these vehicles to move between terminals, and also to the Metro station and parking lot.
These electric buggies, managed by the Airports Authority of India, help travellers moving between domestic and international termini, to the Metro Rail station within the airport premises, and the parking lot from where they have to catch taxis, all of which are situated at a substantial distance.
Until July, these battery vehicles were being used only for inter-terminal transfers. In August, the airport authorities relocated the pickup point for domestic arrivals to the multi-level car parking facility that lies about a km away. The passengers were to use the buggies to reach there.
However, with only nine such vehicles to serve hundreds who arrive at the same time, many passengers had to wait for a long time or walk all the way to the pickup point with their luggage, leading to frequent complaints.
Frustrated by the wait times, many of them took to social media to demand reinstating pickup point at the exit gate or making more buggies available. After a large number of such complaints, the AAI has now added 13 new battery vehicles to the fleet, bringing the total to 22 as of November 8.
While airport officials said this would help reduce complaints, passengers are not convinced that it would fully address the inconveniences they are facing. Considering the number of passengers who arrive during the peak hours, even 22 vehicles are far from enough, forcing them to wait in long queues to board the vehicles, they pointed out.
After reaching the multi-level car park from where they can catch the taxis, they have to deal with the struggle of reaching the second or third levels with the luggage because of limited lift access.
Citing these issues, which cannot be addressed by merely introducing more buggies, many passengers have asked the officials to bring back the pickup point to the domestic arrival area, stating that it was the only permanent solution to their problems.