Bike taxi Rapido adds transport vertical for businesses

Bengaluru headquartered Roppen Transportation Services, which runs Rapido, has rolled out its two-wheeler transport services to offline and online businesses for deliveries. 

Rapido had conducted pilots to provide transport services to delivery chains for their last-mile drop-offs during the Covid-19 induced lockdown. It has now expanded the scope of this segment by launching a new platform called Rapido Store.

The launch comes on the heels of Rapido’s tie-up with hyperlocal grocery services providers BigBasket, Big Baazar and Spencer Retail in April. 

Rapido Store, which is currently operational in Bengaluru and Vijayawada, claims to have roped in some 200 businesses for the service. 

The company will charge Rs 35 for 3 km in Bengaluru, and Rs 30 for 3 km in Vijayawada as a base price. 

“India is home to 30 million small and medium enterprises, with many of them at the nascent stage of their digital transformation. Rapido Store will give these businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to maintain continuity and also increase sales. The service will allow these businesses to overcome manpower and mobility challenges,” Aravind Sanka Rapido co-founder said.

Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli and Aravind Sanka, Rapido connects customers who intend to book for a two wheeler ride with third party drivers who are vehicle operators or bike riders. The startup has about 15 lakh drivers registered on the platform and operates in close to 100 cities. 

In August last year, Rapido acqui-hired data analytics firm Vahanalytics to improve its driving behaviour analysing capacity. It raised $54.55 million from WestBridge Capital and Nexus Venture Partners in the same month.