Rapido – India’s beloved taxi service

• ByStartupStory     |    November 20, 2021

“We are not an option, we are a choice .

We’re #1 choice of 10 Million people because we’re the solution of India’s intra-city commuting problems. With assured safety, we also provide economically priced rides.”

Rapido is an easy-to-use platform that links passengers with drivers for short commutes. It’s essentially a bike taxi equivalent of Uber, but significantly cheaper and more convenient in a congested metropolis. Rapido works similar to any other taxi-booking app. Users must first register and specify their pickup and destination locations in order to arrange a ride.

Rapido was a forerunner in India’s bike-taxi industry at a time when most state governments were opposed to the idea of intra-city bike-sharing. However, in early 2017, the federal government urged that all state governments legalise bike-taxis, hence popularising the service and others like it.

The birth of an era of stress free commute .

This  Indian online bike taxi aggregator based in Bangalore was started in 2015. It currently operates in more than 90 cities around the country and travels to various locations within and surrounding those cities. Every day, it even attracts around 15000 registered motorcyclists.”Rapido has come a long way ever since its inception in 2015. With a lot of hardwork and perseverance we have made a place for ourselves in the market. As a brand and as a service, it is our constant endeavour to redefine ourselves.” – Rishikesh SR , founder , Rapido 

Pavan Guntupalli, Rishikesh SR and Aravind Sanka are the founders of Rapido.

The Building blocks of Rapido 

Rapido’s roots can be traced back to the Karrier days, when the company was founded on a logistics and supply-chain-driven concept that allowed clients to carry their goods with ease. Things were going well for Rapido, but one of its co-founders, Aravind Sanka, says the company “soon understood that shifting gears from B2B to B2C provides greater room for development.”

B2C meant that the company could no longer deal with trucks and had to shift to bikes to meet the transportation needs of the customers. Using cars would mean an additional financial burden for the company, as well as a slew of competition, traffic, and delays. As a result, with the simple notion of making customers’ journeys easier, they began working with 15-20 employees, who sowed the seeds for Rapido and made the company’s success possible through hard work, persistence, and dedication.

The founders of Rapido believed that Ola and Uber would never be cheap to everyone on a regular basis, and that traffic in major cities would only become worse. So they devised a strategy to avoid some of the more obvious issues and plan for successful motorcycle rides.

The working model of Rapido 

Users can schedule a ride through the app, and a rider, known as a captain, will arrive at the user’s location. The cost of each ride is determined by the number of kilometres the user must travel. Those interested in serving as captains must first register on the Rapido captain app and be validated by submitting the appropriate papers as outlined above. Captains are allowed to ride on scooters or motorcycles. However, there is one stipulation: the vehicles must be two-wheelers and must be no older than 2010.

Rapido , their value in the market . 

As of August 18, 2021, Rapido had raised $130.2 million in fundraising across nine rounds. The company raised $52 million from existing and new investors in its most recent Series C investment round on August 16, 2021.

The startup company is rapidly expanding. Its financials reflect its expansion. In the previous year, the Bengaluru-based company claimed a 12.5x increase in revenue. On the selling of mutual funds, the corporation received interest income and a capital gain. It hopes to reach a million clients every day, but now has 5,00,000 captains serving 10 million customers over 90 locations.

A fourth geared future for Rapido . 

The primary goal of the company is to keep their app updated along with adding newer and more interesting features that would make it more convenient for both the captains and the users. The founders are also thinking about reducing the rates. Moreover, they are looking to add fuel up their rides with something unique, which will allow the users to travel faster. Furthermore, they are also planning to include a subscription-based power pass for its regular customers. The intention is to make his/her rides more affordable.

Rapido is probably India’s first bike taxi service that is solely dedicated to providing bike taxis. It promises fresh wind, safety, as well as shower caps and helmets. This firm has finally launched its services in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada, making it affordable, safe, and providing last-mile commute options. Rapido is ideal for shorter trips and is generally less expensive than a car, as it costs INR 5 per kilometre. The nicest aspect about this service is that you can easily mark your most-visited destinations or typical routes to book a ride, and if a bike captain (that’s what they name their bike drivers) is available, you may locate a ride in less time than you would normally wait.

If you’re driving or taking the bus during the peak-hour traffic it is nothing short of a nightmare, but traversing even the most congested areas on a bike is a breeze. So guys, Why wait for a cab when Rapido has the power to make traffics a little less of a nightmares !!

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