Bike Taxi App Rapido Launches Auto Rickshaws Segment In 14 Cities The startup plans to be live in 50 cities by the end of 2020 and onboard more than half a million auto captains in the next six months

Bike taxi platform Rapido on Thursday announced the launch of Rapido auto-rickshaw services in 14 cities across 10 states in the country. The service will allow commuters to book auto-rickshaws for their everyday commute and aims to bring standardization to the pricing of the services offered for the auto drivers and customers.

This is the first phase of the launch and Rapido has already on-boarded 20,000 auto captains (driver-partners) so far. It has plans to onboard more than half a million in the next six months and interested auto drivers can self-onboard themselves by downloading Rapido Captain App or calling the Rapido helpline number.

"Autos have emerged as a preferred way of commuting post the COVID-19 pandemic after bike taxis. While the auto service industry is highly penetrated, it has only 5 per cent of its existing market online. Through Rapido Auto, we aim to offer commuters another safe and affordable option for their everyday commute, apart from our bike taxi service that is standardized in pricing and operations," said Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka, on the launch of Rapido Auto.

The company recently announced several initiatives towards maintaining safety and following guidelines to protect the customer and the captain, including the innovative safety back shields for bike taxi rides. It also introduced new policy support where the company provides free cancellation if captains or customers are without a mask.

By initiating the concept in the country in 2015, the startup pioneered in the bike taxi segment service spread widely across the country from tier I to tier III cities with a vision to make intra-city transportation convenient, affordable, and accessible in the country.