BIA to earn Rs. 700 per taxi from PickMe

PickMe driver loading luggage for tourists at Airport 

• App-based ride-hailing company’s CEO says democratising opportunity in tourism industry is a very good move 

Under a new agreement between the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., and PickMe, the app-based ride-hailing company will operate a taxi stand within the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). 

The new arrangement will bring an additional revenue of Rs. 700 per vehicle to the BIA while making it easier to monitor tourist arrivals.

PickMe CEO Zulfer Jiffry said: “We will be generating a daily report to the airport and keeping authorities updated on our vehicle movements.  Apart from the BIA, this will also help the tourism industry to gauge arrivals and departures of free individual travellers (FITs) which will help the industry to understand their stays and travel patterns within the country.

He said that from the user point of view i.e. foreign tourists, they will have access to a transparent system that will allow them to travel from the BIA to any part of the country at a very reasonable cost. 

“PickMe is already popular amongst video bloggers who travel all over the country, giving useful data to travellers across the world.  They have already highlighted that PickMe rates are less than half of what other taxi services stationed at the BIA offers,” said Jiffry, adding that the company looks forward to working with the airport to increase and improve Customer Experiences at the airport.

All Airport trips will have PickMe’s Insurance cover for hospitalisation and Life.  The company also has the additional advantage of ride tracking on their app, which enables loved ones to easily see their movements even when overseas.  This not only increases the safety factor, but also ensures peace of mind for tourists and their families.

Currently the PickMe stand is a 100 square foot area located at the Tourist Exit area of the BIA.  They operate 24/7 and will at any given time have a driver at the counter as well as vehicles parked in their allotted slot at the BIA car park.  The company is in negotiations with the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., to have a dedicated booth within the BIA for further convenience of arriving tourists. 

While PickMe already offers welcome and identification board services for airport arrivals, on the PickMe corporate member platform, CEO Jiffry says plans are underway to extend this service to all users in the near future.  By including this feature on the PickMe app, the company will provide anyone using the app the facility of booking airport pickups and drops with all the additional features such as name board carrying, choice of travelling on the highway etc. without hassle.

Jiffry said that PickMe’s presence at the BIA will boost a wide section of drivers from across the country who are eager to make inroads in servicing tourists arriving in Sri Lanka. 

“This is a very good move towards democratising opportunity in the tourism industry.  Inasmuch digital platforms for booking accommodation and train travel have opened up our island to the world, digitalised app hailing transport services will also help in attracting tourists to the country, particularly those who travel on tight budgets.  We look forward to working with BIA to increase and improve Customer Experiences. The Airport is such an important touch point for any visitor to Sri Lanka, and in line with our promise to every overseas arrival, we have established a dedicated AirPort hotline so that they can access our services immediately on touch down, without having to wait or haggle for airport transfers to anywhere in the country,” PickMe CEO added.