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Rapido, India's largest bike taxi app, has introduced Rapido Box, a new on-demand delivery service where customers can request pick and drop of food, groceries, and medicines on the app, from or to another customer. The person-to-person (P2P) on-demand delivery service will enable users to exchange food, groceries, or medicines with their family and friends who are not able to step out of their homes for essentials or have run out of certain essential items in times of need. The Rapido app will be the platform of exchange for users to send or call for essentials. The company will leverage its already existing fleet of riders (called captains) to ensure quick and prompt deliveries across the cities of Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. The newly launched service will also aim to boost utilization and revenue of the Rapido captains on the road, during the lockdown, the company said in a statement. The base price for the service will be ₹ 35 for 2 km, and ₹ 15 per kilometer after the initial 2 km distance covered. Users will be able to track their orders through an Order Tracking URL which will be shared with them through SMS. In order to avail of the service, customers are required to update their existing mobile apps. Rapido has accelerated its existing Rapido-Delivery services to provide for the delivery of essential goods during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. The company has been operating delivery services for many B2B clients for close to 2 years now. Rapido has partnered with other major online grocery portals for delivery of essential goods and is additionally supporting the Delhi Government in delivering essential items like milk and food packets, under the DCPC Node, in underprivileged areas across the city. The company has also partnered with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) COVID-19 Home Delivery Helpline as a delivery service partner in a move to resolve supply-chain challenges amidst lockdown "The COVID 19 lockdown has brought mobility to a standstill with restraints in everyday commuting for Indians all across. To ensure there is quick, safe, and cost-effective exchange of essentials amongst users in these challenging times, we have extended our logistics offering to launch this new on-demand, person-to-person delivery service, which will benefit our customers as well as contribute to the daily earnings of our Captains. We hope that with Rapido Box, people will be able to comfortably help their loved ones in need, without leaving the safety of their homes," said Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder, Rapido.

Bengaluru-based bike-hailing startup Rapido in its recent Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings has stated that it has acquired Mumbai-based startup Vahanalytics, which is registered as Urbantanz Technologies. The filings stated that the analytics startup has been allocated 55 equity shares worth Rs 49 lakh. Post-acquisition, the Mumbai startup's co-founders Shivalik Sen and Someshwar Dash will be joining Rapido for the next two years. The duo will also receive employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs) valued at Rs 37 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively. The other founders, Arun Gandhi and Nikhil Tavora will be exiting the company. Founded in 2016, Vahananalytics is a platform that works on using data and machine learning to make roads safer. The platform collects data basis key driver metrics and identifies bad drivers from the good ones. It captures real-time data about the habits and road conditions using smartphones. Earlier this year, Rapido raised fresh funding of $10 million led by Hong Kong-based investment firm Integrated Capital. The funding also saw participation from companies such as Skycatchr, Astrac Ventures, and AdvantEdge. The team currently claims to be doing close to 2.5 million ride orders a month and intends to touch 20 million by the end of this year. Rapido also claims to have strict checks to ensure best-in-class safety standards. As part of the standard check, a rider has to complete a comprehensive test ride and get his vehicle tested while accomplishing mandatory training and certification. Rapido even monitors the speed for each ride, prompting the rider in case of over speeding. It also has an emergency SOS button installed within the app. Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, Rapido is targeted at crores of commuters who seek affordable and swift transport options. In the three years since its launch, Rapido has recorded two million app downloads on iOS and Android and is operational in 16 cities from metros (Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, etc.) to small towns (Mysuru, Patna, Madurai, Indore, etc.). It has 5,000 daily drivers and 10,000 monthly drivers or “captains”, including women.

Bengaluru-based bike taxi app Rapido has raised a funding of Rs 1.49 crore from investor Karina Choudhrie, according to RoC filings accessed by YourStory. As per the filing, the company issued 167 Series A3 Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares on July 17 at a premium value of Rs 89,672.82 per share. In April this year, it had raised $11.2 million led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Karina Choudhrie Tech Sponsors India, Integrated Capital, and Rapido Holdings LLC. In January, the company received $10 million led by Hong Kong-based investment firm Integrated Capital. Rapido, which has a fleet of over 60,000 active riders operating across major Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Delhi, is reportedly said to be in the final stages of closing a $50 million round from Westbridge Capital. The Rapido app, available for Android users, is available in 40 cities in India with over two million customers and has registered over 10 million rides. Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, the firm recently introduced a subscription-based program – called Power Pass – that will help Rapido customers save more on their travel spend. With this, Pass users will not only be able to avail huge benefits on all their rides but also book their rides without any surge pricing levied on flat fares. Rapido aims to have a million active Pass users by June 2020. According to the company, Pass users can save up to 40 percent on their travel spending.

If you are a frequent Rapido user, we might have some good news in store! The Bengaluru-based bike taxi app, which has a fleet of over 60,000 active riders operating across major Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Delhi, has introduced a brand new feature – called Power Pass – that will make the daily commute much more affordable for its users. The Rapido bikers Essentially a subscription-based program, the Power Pass feature is an option to help Rapido customers save more on their travel spend. With this, Pass users will not only be able to avail huge benefits on all their rides but also book their rides without any surge pricing levied on flat fares. “We understand that every user is different and has unique preferences, which motivated us to develop a one-of-a-kind solution to cater to their needs. Our tool understands the user's behavior and provides the best-suited pass rather than showing multiple passes and confusing them,” said Hiran Gunasekaran, Head, Power Pass, Rapido. So far, the Power Pass subscription option is available only to a limited set of customers across a few Indian cities. However, in the coming months, the company assured that it would be rolling out the feature to all Rapido customers. Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, Rapido works like any other taxi-booking app. It aims to make last-mile connectivity affordable and tackle the issues that commuters face every day, especially during morning rush hours, by offering an alternative option of a bike instead of a car or public transport. The company is targeting its loyal customer base with the latest subscription program. According to Rapido, Pass users can save up to 40 percent on their travel spending. Also, Pass users are said to be riding 60 percent more frequently when compared to other users, the bike taxi operator claimed. Aimed at changing the way intracity travel unfolds, Rapido aims to have 1 million active Pass users by June 2020.

Kanta Chauhan’s life has not been an easy one. Born in the district of Ropar, Punjab, her father passed away when she was young, and it was left to her mother to take care of her and her three siblings. After completing her higher secondary education from a government school, she couldn’t continue further as there was no money in the family. Even after her marriage, Kanta’s struggles did not abate. “My husband met with an accident. He was the only bread-earner of the family, and we had to take some loans and also use our savings to tide over the situation. Seeing my daughter and husband in despair, I decided to stand up for my family and work as a Captain for Rapido,” she says. Based in Jalandhar, Kanta is Rapido’s first woman Captain in the four states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh. She had enough grit and determination to face life and its challenges head-on. Being a Captain or a bike driver is a mixed bag of responses, says Kanta. “I have met a lot of wonderful people who have appreciated my work, and also many people who canceled the ride, just because they are not comfortable riding with a woman.” However, Kanta says she is happy that the ratio of positive people has always been on a more substantial side than those who look down upon her because of her choice of ‘job’. However, most customers are initially surprised by seeing a woman Captain. Kanta says, “I usually call the rider once I get a booking. So, most of my riders think that I am calling from customer care and will be sending the driver to them soon. But when I reach there, they are surprised to see me as to why a woman is working as a captain? The riders ask me why I am riding a bike taxi and what made me choose to do this. There are a lot of questions that come my way.” A feeling of pride Kanta believes it’s been an exciting ride all the way, even if there have been a few bad experiences. She says many cancel the rides when they come to know the driver is a woman. “This makes me feel sad. Being in the 21st century, why can't we see a man and a woman equally? I have also met some fantastic people full of positivity, which makes me forget all the negativity around my life at the moment. People do appreciate me a lot for standing up for my family and being an example to other women. I too, feel proud to stand among other Rapido riders as the only woman Captain.” Kanta has not received any kind of support from her family, her siblings, or in-laws. She says it’s Rapido that has helped her stand on her own feet and take care of her family during difficult times. The team members, she adds, are always happy to help with whatever problems she has. Kanta believes women are capable of doing any job if they put their minds to it. “If you want to be a woman Captain, join Rapido. It’s not only a job that provides you with an income but also gives you the convenience of working according to your time. With Rapido, you can look after your family and children’s education. Rapido has given me an aim in life to provide each and everything that my daughter desires,” she says. Her only aim in life now is to provide the best education to her daughter and build a home for her family. And for that, she is willing to work hard.

HYDERABAD: Looks like the last-mile connectivity firms have changed their regular routes to join the Covid-19 ecosystem. Ride-sharing companies like Rapido partnered with e-commerce businesses for the last mile delivery. This enables easy scheduling of delivery and also helped in maintaining the livelihood of Rapido Captains (drivers) in these tough times. Rapido has 25 percent of its fleet running on the road delivering groceries across India. Mustafa was previously employed with Volvo and runs an IT service cab company, started as a Rapido Captain seven months back to deliver essential groceries. He says, “On average, I deliver about 20 orders a day across the city. The virus threat is not daunting for me as I take good care of maintaining distance and hygiene, sanitize regularly, and change my gloves after every delivery. Once home, I also make sure to have a bath to allay all fears of my family.” Pasha, the only earning member of his family, has 14 mouths to feedback at home in Gulbarga Karnataka. He bravely gets on the road every day to provide essential goods and groceries. Pasha says he braves the current conditions to ensure his family and millions of us sitting at home get to have food on the table. “I do take care of myself by wearing a mask, gloves, and use the sanitizer after every delivery.” Meanwhile, Bounce, a dockless shared mobility player, has started the #TheScooterHero initiative. This has got more than 1,000 bikes registered within three days of it being announced. Hyderabadis and Bengalureans have registered their idle scooters and bikes to aid COVID warriors in their commute. “We would like to ease transportation hassles for Covid warriors such as the Railway employees by giving them access to ScooterHero vehicles free of cost for their daily commute,” said Anil Giriraj, Co-founder and CEO of Bounce.

Bike taxi service provider Rapido has resumed operations in close to 100 cities as of now, with a special focus on the health and well-being of captains (rider partners) and customers. The company is providing free cancellation if any captain or customer is without a mask. As of now, Rapido has restarted the operations in green and orange zones only. The company is showing containment areas in its app and making sure that the captains and customers do not pass through them. Rapido has made it mandatory for its captains to install the Aarogya Setu app before accepting rides. The captains have to fill a checklist of items and declarations every time they go online. The captains have to wear a mask at all times and carry sanitizers and hair nets apart from the mandatory helmets. They have been asked to regularly sanitize the pillion seat of the bikes. Rapido is providing sanitizers and masks to all its captains. Besides, the company is furnishing sanitized half helmets for the customers. According to Rapido, resuming the operations will bring relief to around 3 lakh captains that are dependent on the bike taxi service for their daily income and livelihood.

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday suggested all state transport ministers to explore making app-based two-wheeler taxis operational, particularly in rural areas to help farming communities with smoother movement during the Covid-19 lockdown. In a video conference with the state and union territories transport ministers, the minister said that “this will also provide new employment opportunities,” according to a statement by the road transport & highways ministry. UberMoto, Ola Bikes, and Alibaba’s BAce Capital-backed Rapido are among the leading companies offering two-wheeler or bike taxi services. “Many farmers personally deliver their produce door to door to earn their livelihood. Their transportation from nodal points to the final destinations is a challenge in rural India. However, a robust and functional bike taxi ecosystem will offer practical mobility solutions for farmers and will help ease the burden of an ever-growing transportation strain on them for making deliveries,” Aravind Sanka, Co-founder, Rapido told Financial Express Online. Rapido, on the other hand, had partnered with state governments including Delhi and Karnataka to deliver essential goods to citizens and people in underprivileged areas in Delhi and Bengaluru. The startup had also partnered with retail chains such as Big Bazaar and Spencer’s Retail along with online grocery players including Grofers, BigBasket for last-mile delivery of orders. The All India Agriculture Workers Union and the All India Kisan Sabha had earlier this month sought support from the government for bigger challenges faced by the agri community. “This (lockdown) has led to untold misery for the peasantry, agricultural workers, the poor and the toiling masses. Already more than 150 deaths are being reported due to the unplanned, unprepared and mismanaged lockdown and the accompanying loss of employment, earning, hunger as well as all-round distress,” Financial Express had reported citing Ashok Dhavale, president, All India Kisan Sabha as saying. Gadkari further suggested the ministers “to shift public transport to LNG/CNG, e-vehicles which will bring considerable savings on fuel bills and will help the environment being less/zero polluting fuels.”