Rapido (company)

Rapido is an Indian online bike taxi aggregator based out of Bangalore, India. The company was founded in 2015 in Bengaluru. It operates in over 90+ cities across the country and has a mission to solve last-mile connectivity issues.

Rapido - Bike Taxi
Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited
Formerly
theKarrier.
Private
IndustryTransportation
Founded2015 (2015)
FounderAravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli and SR Rishikesh
Headquarters
Bangalore, Karnataka
,
India
Number of locations
75+ cities[1] (2019)
Area served
India
ProductsMobile app
ServicesTaxi services
Website

History

The company was founded in 2015 as theKarrier[2] by two IIT alumni and a PESU alumni – Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and SR Rishikesh.[3] In September 2018, reports were that Rapido has over 15,000 registered riders, with average rides of 30,000 per day.[4] Among those who have stakes in Rapido are Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal and former Google India head Rajan Anandan.[5]

In 2019, Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka claimed that the company has created more than 500,000 jobs in India.[6] In November 2019, the company claimed to have 1 crore registered users.[2]

Business model

The Rapido app allows the user to book a ride, after which a rider (called "Captain") arrives at the location. The fare includes a base fare of ₹15 in addition to ₹3 for every kilometer of the ride.[7][8][9] The "Captains" need to register through the Rapido-Captain app and get validated by submitting the required documents. They can use motorcycles, scooters, or e-bikes, but the vehicle cannot be older than 2010.

Rapido has run into legal troubles in various cities. In October 2018, several bikes were seized in Coimbatore as Rapido was operating without a permit from the transport department.[10] In February 2019, more than 200 bike taxis belonging to Ola Cabs and Rapido were seized in Bangalore as the state transport department declared bike taxis to be illegal.[11] Despite the ban, Rapido was reported to be illegally operating in Bangalore, with Rapido Captains disguised as food delivery executives.[12] In July 2019, Madras High Court banned Rapido operations across Tamil Nadu.[13]

In February 2020, Rapido was banned across Assam, after the transport department found that the company was operating without commercial license or permit from the DTO.[14]

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References
  1. "Bike-taxi service Rapido to double its presence to 150 cities in 6 months". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  2. "Startup Street: Rapido Begins Its Delhi City Service Amid Odd-Even Curbs". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  3. "Indian Motorbike-Taxi Service Rapido Aims To Reach 1 Million Rides Each Day In 2019". Forbes. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  4. "Bike taxi app Rapido to launch new features for visually-challenged commuter". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. "Pawan Munjal, Rajan Anandan invest in bike taxi operator Rapido". Economic Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. "'We took a bold step to focus on tier-2 cities'". Livemint. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  7. "Bike ride, a click away". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  8. "Rapido kick-starts its operations in Warangal". Telangana Today. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. "Rapido plans to launch "power pass" for regular commuters". Economic Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  10. "Bike taxi service runs into dead end". Times of India. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  11. "Bike taxis are illegal says Karnataka transport dept, impounds 200 bikes". The News Minute. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  12. "Bike taxis hide behind aggregators, operate illegally under the radar". New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  13. "Explainer: Why bike sharing app Rapido has been banned across Tamil Nadu". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  14. "Assam Transport Department bans Rapido-Bike Taxi Service in Guwahati, Office sealed". The Sentinel Assam. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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