'We prioritise safety of women': Rapido co-founder Pavan Guntupalli after unfortunate Bengaluru incident

Rapido co-founder Pavan Guntupalli has said that the ride-hailing taxi service prioritises women's safety. He emphasised that the company makes sure to check with the user in case any unusual routes have been taken during the ride. Rapido also checks with the rider if the destination has been changed during the ride. This comes at a time when a Rapido auto driver was accused of groping a female rider in Bengaluru, in one of many such incidents.

Guntupalli told Tech Today, “The concerned incident happened during an offline trip. We are trying to educate users to always opt for an online trip as we have several safety features that they can use.” However, he added, “Despite it being an offline ride, we have identified the driver and handed him over to the police for further investigation.”

Rapido has now introduced its 4-wheeler intra-city cab rides in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. With this move, Rapido will compete against Uber and Ola. The company announced that it is introducing an initial fleet of 1 lakh vehicles for cabs.

Guntupalli stated that Rapido is a SaaS-based platform that has a zero-commission model for cab captains. He also claims that Rapido cabs will be the most affordable option for all the riders.

Rapido Cabs distinguishes itself through an innovative SaaS-based platform featuring a cutting-edge, zero-commission model for cab captains—an outstanding hallmark of our service. Guntupalli told Tech Today, “Rapido Cabs is going to be a profitable business model itself. Starting with the break-even business model, we are eventually going to have a profitable model soon. In the span of up to 1.5 years, Rapido Cabs revenue will account for 15-20 per cent of our overall revenue to start with.”

Rapido Cabs will be available across all major cities including Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and more in India by the first half of 2024. Talking about the eco-friendly approach of the company, he stated that Rapido already has a few electric vehicles in its fleet. However, the company will be looking into more partnerships to get more EVs as cabs in the future.  

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