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 75 cities across the country, but has run into legal troubles in several places.

History

The company was founded in 2015 as theKarrier by two IIT alumni and a PESU alumni – Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and SR Rishikesh. In September 2018, reports were that Rapido has over 15,000 registered riders, with average rides of 30,000 per day. Among those who have stakes in Rapido are Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal and former Google India head Rajan Anandan.
In 2019, Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka claimed that the company has created more than 500,000 jobs in India. In November 2019, the company claimed to have 1 crore registered users.

Business model

The Rapido app allows the user to book a ride, after which a rider arrives at the location. The fare includes a base fare of 15 in addition to 3 for every kilometer of the ride. 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.

Legal issues

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. 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. Despite the ban, Rapido was reported to be illegally operating in Bangalore, with Rapido Captains disguised as food delivery executives. In July 2019, Madras High Court banned Rapido operations across Tamil Nadu.
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.