Unicorn on a bike: How Rapido fought Ola and Uber to win big in small rides 2022

Unicorn on a bike: How Rapido fought Ola and Uber to win big in small rides 2022

The most recent funding round, which Swiggy led, valued Rapido at over USD830 million. This is remarkable for a firm that made it through the first three years on under $2 million while dealing with a high mortality rate in the bike-taxi market. Proving little is big is now the problem. In other terms, to demonstrate how a strong mobility business can be built using low-cost rides.

“Not dying is one thing we are good at,” Aravind Sanka, co-founder, and CEO of Rapido can afford a wry one-liner to sum up the company’s seven-year journey. It has repeatedly avoided death, and with about $200 million in savings and an estimated value of $830 million, it is on the verge of becoming a unicorn. The only bike-taxi company to reach this point is Rapido. Between 2015 and 2017, about thirty startups.

The experience of taking a bike taxi in India is unlike any other, but what comes to mind when you think of the bike taxi service? Rapido is typically the first thing that springs to mind for people in India.

The first and biggest bike taxi company in India is called Rapido. The business was established in August 2015 by Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and Rishikesh SR. Rapido has swiftly become the most well-liked mode of transportation, from the congested roads of Delhi to the isolated regions of Rajasthan. Here is a look at the history of Rapido and the reasons that India loves it so much.

Rapido

Due to its accessibility and cost, Rapido, a bike taxi service in India, has experienced tremendous growth in popularity. Rapido has grown to include vdifferent cities all around the country since its inception in late 2015. Customers use the Rapido application to locate drivers nearby, pick a collection and drop-off destination, and confirm their ride. This is how it works.

A Rapido ride will cost you around half as much as an Uber or taxi ride. Rapido is therefore it is ideal for quick excursions inside the city. The rider may bring along a second free passenger. Rapido has had tremendous success thus far, and there are no indications that this trend will change.

Rapido has been running successfully for over two years and has an incredible 25 million+ app installs. An idea to make it simple and faster for individuals to navigate crowded cities developed into a profitable business. Major Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, currently provide the service.

For Rapido, the previous few years have been crucial. They have accomplished 100 million rides in addition to reaching the milestone of 10 million satisfied clients! According to the founders, that much moving around and on two wheels would not have been possible without the help of their fantastic community.

The Rapido Design Concept

Rapido got its beginnings with just a few individuals and a few bicycles. Even remarkable is that their basic idea of recruiting individuals on two-wheelers allowed them to expand swiftly. Rapido was established to stand apart from Ola and Uber, its rivals.

Since the beginning, the creators of Rapido bike taxi companies have wanted to approach vehicle investment in a unique way. They reasoned that having a fleet of cars was unnecessary given the availability of cheaper alternatives like two-wheelers. From this perspective, Rapido has achieved notable success in India’s bike taxi market. Rapido is still serving as the torchbearer for two-wheeler transport.

Users of the Rapido Captain application might sign up and validate their details. This made it easier for the business to get all the required paperwork and guarantee that only the rightful owners were registering. Additionally, this made it easier for Rapido to track its two-wheeler fleet and better assess maintenance requirements.

Rapido has been Uber and Ola’s most competitive rival for regular travel since its launch in 2015. When Rapido entered the market, its business plan was straightforward: provide inexpensive rides to anyone in need, and it was clear that Ola and Uber couldn’t compete on pricing. As a result, Rapido has steadily gained in popularity over time.

Rapido: Important Highlights

India’s bike taxi service, Rapido, was established in November 2015 by Pavan Guntupalli, Rishikesh SR, and Aravind Sanka with the goal of improving urban mobility. So far, it has raised a total of $130.2 million in funding. The business is a pioneer in its industry and is well-positioned to keep expanding quickly. Rapido helps to lessen traffic jams and pollution levels in addition to providing a cheap and practical method of getting around cities. All things considered, everyone benefits.

As of August 2019, Rapido’s valuation had skyrocketed to Rs 1,005 crore. The company’s aggressive expansion ambitions, which have seen it quickly expanding business across the nation, are mostly to blame for this.

With a strong emphasis on delivering an effective and convenient service, Rapido has swiftly established itself as a favorite amongst commuters searching for a hassle-free method to move around. And given that the company provides rides for as little as Rs 10, it’s no surprise that it draws more customers daily.

Cofounder Pavan Guntupalli formerly worked at Samsung and received his schooling at the IIT. Pavan is a computer programmer by trade and speaks Korean with ease.

Rishikesh SR – Cofounder

Unlike Pavan and Aravind, Rishikesh attended the PES University and is the creator of IMPStant and Karrier. Aravind Sanka, a cofounder, previously worked as a finance business associate at Flipkart and received his schooling at the IIT.

Last Word

When it comes to bridging the gap between different forms of transportation, Rapido is a unique shining technology that can help, making it simpler than ever for individuals to get about. Its simple layout and rapid popularity have quickly risen to the top of India’s bike-sharing apps.

The business has taken advantage of the rising demand for transportation alternatives, and its emphasis on customer satisfaction has assisted it in gaining a devoted following in commuters in India. For riders on a tight budget, Rapido is a desirable choice due to its affordable costs.

The bike taxi service is undoubtedly off to a strong start, and its long-term purposes include keeping its software current and incorporating intriguing new features. It is evident that companies like Rapido will only grow in popularity as more people use bicycles for transportation every day.

If you talk to them, your Ola and Uber drivers would admit that they are no longer making as much money as they once did a few months ago. The new incentive scheme used by the online taxi aggregators is the cause. According to reports, it occurred as a result of confident Ola and Uber drivers manipulating the system and stealing substantial sums of money.

In the most recent development, a driver who formerly worked for Ola before transferring to Uber struck up a conversation with Neha Garg. As a result, the driver admitted to running a fraud on Ola.

The drivers took advantage of a piece of software to alter their position. So the only thing a customer will notice after booking a cab is that the driver is at the pickup location. They would be somewhere else in reality. The drivers would then switch their mobile numbers to flight mode in order to block client communication.

Even if you believe that to be the worst, it wasn’t. For the actual, infrequent rides, there was a flight mode trick. Then, drivers began making fictitious IDs for Ola customers and using their own SIM cards. Four persons, excluding the driver, would regularly schedule the ride and sit in the cab.

Drivers for Ola and Uber make more money from the “reward” they receive from the businesses than from the final fare. Therefore, they fulfill their goal of a minimal number of rides that ensures they receive their reward without expending a lot of fuel or time by putting in place a system of phony passages.

The thread claims that Ola was able to identify every offender and blocked 11,600 taxis in addition.

We have zero tolerance for cheating on the Ola platform, both on the driver and consumer sides, according to an official representative for Ola. In the interest of overall security, we have partnered with the local government to take drastic action against those trying to do so wilfully while instituting numerous checks and precautionary technology initiatives to remove any fraudulent activity on the console since its inception. We believe that this is an effort to harm our reputation with clients and driving partners.

The spokesperson continued, “We track constant value for every business and ensure correct steps anytime we see a dip in this score to avoid any kind of fraud on our platform. In order to detect strange activities and stop any attempts at malpractice on the Ola platform over the years, we have also implemented more robust mobile identification verification, unique OTP checks, automated allotment, and institution of computer vision.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma