50k rides per day by next year in Guwahati: Bike taxi service co-founder

Guwahati, Dec 28 (IANS) It has only been over a week since Rapido launched its bike taxi service here but the Bangalore-based company is confident of completing about 50,000 rides per day by the next one year even as the company is looking forward to start its service in other northeastern towns in the days to come.

Yes, the Rapido bike taxi service has already become immensely popular since its launch on December 16 this year, and it's growing.

On the third day of our launch here, we completed an astonishing 250 rides in a single day, said Pavan G, co-founder and director, Rapido, in an exlcusive interview with the IANS on Friday.

"I am sure the number will go up to 3,000 to 5,000 rides in the next two months," said the young entrepreneur.

Many people, particularly students are using Rapido services.

"We have launched the service in Guwahati with about 200 captains (Rapido bike riders are called captains) but I think we need to increase the number considering the demand in the market," Pavan said, adding that Rapido is also planning to launch female captains to make the ride more safe for women and girls in town.

"Transportation is a universal problem. Our major objective is to provide the commuters with a fast, affordable transport service. Uber and Ola are there but those are at times not very affordable for common people. Here is the need for Rapido," he said.

The rates for Rapido bike service is around Rs 15 to start the ride with, Rs. 3 for each kilometer and Rs. 1 for each one minute ride.

He added that Rapido's rate is even cheaper than the auto rickshaws operating in Guwahati.

Asked about expansion plans of the service to other towns in the region, Pavan said that as of now Rapido is concerned with improving the service in Guwahati.

"However, once we have made our mark here, we would definitely love to make our presence felt in other northeastern towns," he said.

Rapido has made it mandatory for their rider to wear a helmet along with the captain. To ensure personal hygiene, the rider is given a disposable head cap which the rider can use before wearing the helmet.

To ensure the safety of the riders, Pavan said the company is connected to most hospitals and emergency ambulance services in town.

"In case of an untoward incident, the rider or the captain needs to press the emergency button for the Rapido helpline to get into action."

The main aim of the Rapido service is to provide economical, cost-effective, fuel-efficient and time-saving transport.

Through the mobile app-based service, commuters can book a Rapido bike service instead of driving a car or using the public transport to navigate through traffic snarls quickly and reach their destination on time.

"One just needs to download the Rapido mobile app and the Rapido captain will be available at his service in no time," said Pavan.

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