Getting from Kempegowda International Airport to the city

A separate network with separate numbers

• Vayu Vajra is the air-conditioned Volvo service BMTC runs between the city and Kempegowda International. It is not the ordinary city bus network with a longer route; it is its own service.
• Routes carry KIA numbers rather than the numbers used elsewhere in Bengaluru, so asking for "the bus to the airport" gets you a shrug and asking for a KIA route gets you an answer.
• The buses have dedicated luggage space, comfortable seating, USB charging, CCTV and safety systems, which is the point of paying more than a city fare.

The fare

• BMTC publishes a fare for each airport route through its own airport fare tool rather than a flat price, because the routes are long and cross the whole city.
• Check yours by route before you travel, since a KIA route from Whitefield and one from Majestic are not the same journey or the same money.

Going further than Bengaluru

• KSRTC's Flybus runs intercity services from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, which is how you leave for Mysuru, Mangaluru and the coast without going into the city first.

Why any of this matters

• Kempegowda is at Devanahalli, well north of Bengaluru, and the road in is long. A bus with luggage racks and a published fare beats an hour of negotiation, and a Flybus beats going into the city to come back out.