Bike taxi service Rapido has announced the start of its services in Mumbai. The Ride-hailing app said that it plans to onboard two lakh bike drivers in the next two years as it expands operations further.
The company is offering discounts to first-time riders and the fares are much cheaper when compared to 4-wheeler taxi services.
The platform currently caters to auto-rickshaw and bike ride-sharing segments. It offers bike-taxi service to customers across 100 cities including tier-2 and tier-3 cities while the auto-rickshaw services are available in 14 cities across 10 states.
"The pandemic gave us an opportunity (to enter the Mumbai market) ... It left almost eight million daily commuters of Mumbai looking for alternate modes of travel. As the city builds back from COVID-19, there is a demanding need for an accessible, affordable, and safe everyday commute option. We believe Rapido with its innovative and successful model will be able to address that need," said Aravind Sanka, Co-founder, Rapido in a release.
He also said that "with the launch of Rapido in Mumbai, we want to target the daily local commuters and provide them with an accessible, affordable, and first and last-mile connectivity option to commute."
Fares and introductory offer:
Rapido fares in the city will be as low as Rs 6 per km and as an introductory offer. Additionally, customers can avail an up to 50 percent discount on the first ride.
Each Rapido auto will be powered with Rapido's GPS technology ensuring access to continuous demand from customers around them. Through the app, users will be able to track and share their ride in real-time, with their loved ones.
Steps to book a ride:
A Rapido bike taxi can be booked through its app. The Rapido bike taxi app can be downloaded from the Android Play Store or the Apple App Store. The user must complete a very short registration process on the initial start-up. After finishing the registration process, follow these steps to book a ride:
Step 1: Enter your destination or add from your favourite locations.
Step 2: Your current location will be taken up as your default pick-up location. However, you may enter your pick-up location as required or add from your favourite locations.
Step 3: Select your payment mode.
Step 4: Tap on 'Request' to confirm your booking. You will be notified when a Rapido Captain has accepted your ride and is on the way to your pick-up location.
Step 5: After the booking, you will receive the details of the captain and the vehicle. Use them to locate and connect with the captain and ride away.
Sanitisation:
Rapido bike taxi drivers, called 'captains', are required to sanitise all areas a customer could come in contact with after every ride. The captains will will sanitize and clean the seats and all customer accessible areas, post every ride, along with mandatory usage of masks during the entire ride by the Captains and the passengers.
