Bike taxi startup Rapido aims to add 500,000 autos across India by year-end

The firm said it is expanding its auto service to Bengaluru, taking the service to a total of 26 cities in the country

India’s largest bike taxi platform, Rapido, said it is expanding its auto service to Bengaluru, taking the service to a total of 26 cities in India. With people moving away from public transport due to the pandemic, the service aims to give them access to safer and affordable commute options and provide another avenue to earn for auto drivers present in the city. The company has on-boarded close to 20,000 autos for the launch and plans to take the count to more than 50,000 by the end of the year.

“We are excited to bring Rapido Auto to Bengaluru after receiving a tremendous response across the country,” said Shravya Reddy, VP, Rapido. “Since the onset of Covid-19, autos have emerged as the preferred mode of commute in addition to bike taxis. Auto service is highly penetrated but very scattered.”

Rapido has completed one year since the Auto services were launched last year and has received an overwhelming response across 25 cities. The auto service was initially launched in 14 key Indian cities across 10 states in October 2020 and was extended further to 11 cities following high demand coming in from key cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur. So far, Rapido has boarded 150,000 autos across the country and has served two million customers since launch. It plans to add 500,000 autos across the country by the end of this year.  

“There’s high offline competition and with low demand, auto drivers tend to charge high street premiums,” said Reddy. “Customers tend to shift to other modes of the commute because of uncertainties. We are aiming to strike a balance between demand and supply - bringing in more reliability and convenience for both Captains and customers.”

There are close to 2.5 million people who commute every day in Bengaluru. Ridesharing through taxis, autos, bikes has been able to cater to hardly 10 per cent of them so far. There is a huge potential for growth as people are moving away from public transport in the wake of Covid-19.

Rapido aims to cater to all commuters who are looking for a safe and affordable commute option and plans to increase their market share in this segment in the coming months. Rapido Auto service will be available at the meter price, following the state-defined rate card (minimum fare for the first 1.9 km is Rs 25 and Rs 13 for every additional km).  Each Rapido Auto will have GPS technology to ensure easy access. Further, Rapido Auto users will be able to track and share their rides in real-time. Users can also provide feedback within the app.

Rapido said it has been at the forefront of providing safe and secure rides and has taken numerous initiatives to ensure sanitation and hygiene. Rapido Auto Captains are to sanitize the seat post every ride. Both Captain and customers have to wear a face mask at all times during the ride. The company also introduced new policy support where the company provides free cancellation if Captains or customers are without a mask.