Taxis are not easily available to travellers arriving at the airport and public buses are inconvenient, underlining the case for a proper bus shuttle service

Transport experts in Mumbai agree that there is a desperate need to initiate action to end the harassment of passengers at the domestic and international airport.

This is the result of the regular refusals by taxi and autorickshaw drivers to ferry passengers without a fuss, the inadequate public transport and expensive-but-usually-unavailable pre-paid taxis, due to which many people are stranded at the airport terminals for as much as two hours.

The solution to this is a special bus shuttle with adequate luggage space from the Mumbai airport and transport experts are pushing hard for it.

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is one of the busiest air terminals in the world, but it doesn't have a dedicated bus shuttle service to various parts of the city, even today. While some major cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad have launched efficient, air-conditioned bus services, the country's commercial capital has none. Even Delhi airport now has a special train service-the Delhi Airport Express-that is a convenient facility for travellers. (Read, 'Delhi Airport Express is a brilliant train service which requires finishing touches'.)

With passengers at the mercy of errant taxi drivers who often refuse to ply and an inadequate number of public bus services to the airport, it is common to see many travellers cart their baggage to the main connecting highway a kilometre away. Most of them are professionals travelling on official work.

While many regular taxi drivers try to fleece passengers, the pre-paid taxi services (like Radio Taxi) are expensive and few. Even those who have cars, find parking charges and the long wait to get to their vehicles unaffordable.

Transport experts insist it is high time Mumbai had a special bus shuttle to and from the airport to eliminate this painful inconvenience.

Ashok Datar, an expert in transport, says, "This is absolutely correct. (This is) the least we can do in Mumbai, without fuss or investment and within a few months, without waiting for a bus lane, but by undertaking proper publicity at the bus stops on the frequency of service and appropriate signage (say aircraft) to identify these buses. At the bus stops, the service should get prime space at the airport terminals, with information easily available at various points, for the benefit of passengers as well as those who come to receive them or see them off. We must have at least three routes with a half an hour frequency throughout the night and day, and each should go to south Mumbai, the western suburbs and to Vashi /Thane."

Sudhir Badami, transport activist, estimates the frequency of buses at 3.5 minutes. "In fact, the whole concept of reducing carbon footprint has to come into arguments and we must provide for higher frequencies to attract almost every potential air passenger. These buses need not be restricted to air travellers, so long as other passengers are also willing to pay the fare might be higher on account of the fewer number of people using the service, as the luggage space will reduce seating. Also, these buses should not allow standees, from the point of view of safety of luggage."

Not very long ago, Indian Airlines provided a pick-up facility from certain points in the city to the airport. "In the Indian Airlines days, I used to board the airport bus from Shivaji Park. There was no need to discontinue it. Today, taxis don't come to Mahim, considering it is a short distance for a fare of Rs100. Taxi drivers are known to pay traffic police about Rs100 to get a slot in the queue. Since I always carry a handbag I prefer to come out of the airport and hop in to 'dropping cabs'.  I entirely agree that this is urgently needed across Mumbai. I understand that with the phasing out of Fiats, Mumbai is short by 35,000 cabs," says Nagesh Kini, Mumbai-based social activist.

The monopoly by the taxi unions is the main reason for such inconvenience to travellers. Walter Vieira, marketing consultant, says, "Mumbai is like Goa airport, where the union of taxi drivers, in connivance with politicians, have successfully thwarted all attempts for a bus service. When Damania (Airlines) introduced a free bus service from the city office to/from the airport in Goa, the buses were attacked and the company was compelled to discontinue the service. The government did not intervene and just looked the other way as if nothing had happened. This is also one of the foremost reasons why foreign tourists dislike coming to Goa, for the first hurdle they are faced with on landing is the unreasonable demands of taxi drivers."