Rapido pilots cab ride hailing and hyper local delivery

The firm is testing its new features in Hyderabad and is likely to launch the same in Bengaluru and Chennai in the next few weeks, Sources told Moneycontrol

Ride-hailing platform Rapido is foraying into the hyper-local parcel delivery and cab service market as it looks to expand its offerings from auto and bike taxi services, the firm's app notification showed.

The firm is testing its new features in Hyderabad and is likely to launch the same in Bengaluru and Chennai in the next few weeks, Sources told Moneycontrol.

Rapido pilots parcel delivery service

At Rapido, we’re thrilled to share that our test run in Hyderabad for Rapido Cabs is off to a fantastic start. The city’s vibrant market has warmly embraced us, and the positive response is truly heartening. As we navigate our path forward, we are committed to keeping you closely informed about our progress and eagerly anticipate bringing our innovative services to other cities,” Rapido said in a response to Moneycontrol's queries.

Rapido did not comment on the parcel service foray.

Rapido rolls out cab-service feature on app

Founded in 2015 by  Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli and SR Rishikesh Rapido started as a bike-taxi operator and launched auto-hailing services on its platform. Rapido has raised a total funding of $324 million over 10 rounds from investors like Nexus Venture Partners and WestBridge Capital.

Currently, the cab ride-hailing market is dominated by players like Ola and Uber with new platforms like BluSmart coming in to offer electric vehicle cars for ride-hailing.

Ride-hailing firm Ola also entered the parcel delivery service segment on October 6 through the launch of 'Ola Parcel' and will operate using Ola electric scooters in Bengaluru.

Last year, Uber also launched its parcel delivery service offering through 'Uber Connect'. Uber Connect was introduced in four cities Kolkata, Guwahati, Jaipur and Gurgaon, however, it is now available across India.

The parcel delivery space is currently dominated by players like Porter, Swiggy Genie, Uber and Dunzo.

Existing players are also transitioning towards EVs. In fact, in an earlier interaction with Moneycontrol Porter said that it has onboarded around 3,500 EVs across cities, largely Delhi and Bangalore and has an EV presence in other large metros as well.

"This will be a challenge for Rapido or even Uber. However, Uber is trying to go all-electric. Today, every state is moving towards EVs and if a startup is not launching parcel services using EVs it may run into issues in some states," said an EV expert on the condition of anonymity.

This comes at a time when Rapido has been facing license issues for its bike taxi operating in Karnataka. The Karnataka transport department has not issued licenses to companies including Ola, Uber and Rapido to operate e-bike taxis. At present, neither Uber nor Rapido operates electric bike taxis.

A policy calling for all mobility aggregators and delivery service providers to switch to electric vehicles has already been approved in the national capital.

The Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme legalises bike taxis and outlines comprehensive regulation and licensing of app-based aggregators and delivery service providers.

Under this scheme, bike taxi aggregators will be allowed to function in Delhi provided they operate electric-run vehicles. According to the scheme the entire vehicle fleet of aggregators, delivery service providers and e-commerce entities in Delhi needs to shift to electric by 2030.