Considering the upcoming festival season, Rapido, the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler ride-hailing platform is all prepared to launch its cab services in order to compete with brands like Ola and Uber.
Rapido Launches Cab Services
It appears that the Bike taxi startup, Rapido has forayed into the cab segment, currently dominated by Uber and Ola.
With this move, Rapido looks to expand its offerings and shore up revenue.
The service provider has been operating its cab service in Hyderabad over the last few months on a pilot basis.
In its advanced stage of testing, the platform has received a positive response till now.
Earlier, Rapido was founded in 2015 and since then it has been offering bike taxi services in over 100 cities in India.
In its next phase, the firm has expanded into the 3-wheeler segment recently.
Cab Services & Much More
This Bengaluru-based startup is testing the response for cab services and has commenced a pilot in Hyderabad.
In its later phase, the company plans to introduce the services in other cities as well.
Further, the company said, “At Rapido, we’re thrilled to share that our test run in Hyderabad for Rapido Cabs is off to a fantastic start. The city’s vibrant market has warmly embraced us, and the positive response is truly heartening. As we navigate our path forward, we are committed to keeping you closely informed about our progress and eagerly anticipate bringing our innovative services to other cities,” in a statement.
Besides this, Rapido is looking to integrate intercity bus ticket booking within its app in partnership with Zingbus, as per the media report.
Here, Zingbus aggregates buses to offer a standardized intercity travel experience to customers.
Zingbus was founded in 2019 by Prashant Kumar, Mratunjay, and Ravi Kumar Verma.
Zingbus is a Delhi NCR-based startup which claims to have partnered with over 70 small and medium size bus companies and connect 300 cities daily with over 350 buses.
So far, there is no statement released by Rapido on its partnership with Zingbus.
Interestingly, the development comes a day after Rapido has begun rolling out a premium auto rickshaw service, Auto Plus, in Bengaluru.
Rapido offers auto services and peer-to-peer delivery services via Rapido Local.
The taxi service provider claims to have a fleet of 5 Mn bike taxis and 7 lakh auto-rickshaws further claiming to operate in over 100 Indian cities and have over 25 Mn app downloads.
Rapido’s entry in the cab segment would further intensify the competition for the companies which currently enjoy a dominant share in the cab services market.
This latest offering by the company is expected to help it draw new customers and retain the existing customers who might have to choose its competitors for availing cab rides.
In the meantime, Rapido’s net loss surged 163% year-on-year to INR 439.02 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), while revenue from operations doubled to INR 144.77 Cr.
