Bike Taxi Aggregator Rapido Experiences Rising Demand; Moving towards Electrifying Fleet
Rapido, the bike taxi aggregator has experienced a rise in demand over the past few weeks. This sharp rise has come about because of the easing of lockdown rules across various Indian states. According to the company, the demand has touched pre-Covid levels in the last few weeks.
The Bangalore based online bike aggregator is currently available across 100 Indian cities with close to 150,000-160,000 bikes. It also offers auto rickshaw services in 26 Indian cities with about 70,000 autos operating through its platform. The co-founder of Rapido, Arvind Sanka told a leading daily that the company receives 10 million orders per month across both categories. The company is now looking the number of users on the platform over the next 18 months.
With offices, schools and colleges opening back up, the rise in demand for Rapido’s services has only been growing higher.
The company had raised $52 million in funding back in August. Existing investors Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero Group, Westbridge, Nexus Venture, and Everblue Management were part of the funding round. The round saw participation from new investors including Shell Ventures, Yamaha, Cred founder Kunal Shah, Spotify India CEO Amarjit Singh Batra, and Positive Moves Consulting.
The freshly infused capital is slated to be utilized towards expanding Rapido’s operations across the country. Additionally it will be used towards investing in innovations, technology, people, and supply.
The company is simultaneously focused on electrifying its vehicle fleet in Delhi and Bengaluru. By the end of next year, Rapido intends to electrify a fourth of its two-wheeler fleet.
“Not everyone will move to an electric vehicle immediately – they (bike taxi operators) will look at various aspects including the availability of financing solutions, charging infrastructure, and resale value while making a decision,” Sanka said to a leading daily.
The Bangalore based online bike aggregator is currently available across 100 Indian cities with close to 150,000-160,000 bikes. It also offers auto rickshaw services in 26 Indian cities with about 70,000 autos operating through its platform. The co-founder of Rapido, Arvind Sanka told a leading daily that the company receives 10 million orders per month across both categories. The company is now looking the number of users on the platform over the next 18 months.
With offices, schools and colleges opening back up, the rise in demand for Rapido’s services has only been growing higher.
The company had raised $52 million in funding back in August. Existing investors Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero Group, Westbridge, Nexus Venture, and Everblue Management were part of the funding round. The round saw participation from new investors including Shell Ventures, Yamaha, Cred founder Kunal Shah, Spotify India CEO Amarjit Singh Batra, and Positive Moves Consulting.
The freshly infused capital is slated to be utilized towards expanding Rapido’s operations across the country. Additionally it will be used towards investing in innovations, technology, people, and supply.
The company is simultaneously focused on electrifying its vehicle fleet in Delhi and Bengaluru. By the end of next year, Rapido intends to electrify a fourth of its two-wheeler fleet.
“Not everyone will move to an electric vehicle immediately – they (bike taxi operators) will look at various aspects including the availability of financing solutions, charging infrastructure, and resale value while making a decision,” Sanka said to a leading daily.
