Karnataka govt holding regular consultations on bike taxi policy, says Rapido's Pavan Guntupalli

Rapido bike taxi

Pavan Guntupalli, cofounder of bike taxi startup Rapido, said the Karnataka government is holding regular consultations with the industry to frame a policy framework on bike taxis as the state’s High Court allowed bike taxi operators to continue their services until June 15.

“We are definitely seeing a lot of positive response… the government is being very collaborative in terms of coming up with the rules,” Guntupalli told Moneycontrol in an interaction.

“All the transport department, the IT department, the labour department, all of them have been super helpful to us and they have expressed interest in formalising this segment,” he added.

The court had earlier ordered all bike taxi services in the state to stop by mid-May, unless the government introduced a policy to regulate them. The April 2 order by the same bench had given a six-week window to comply.

However, the court on  April 29 extended the deadline for bike taxi operators, including Rapido, to halt operations post June 15 and asked the government to come up with a policy framework for bike taxis.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad passed the order after considering an interlocutory application filed by Roppen Transformation Services Pvt Ltd, which operates Rapido bike taxis.

Roppen said it had urged the Karnataka government in a meeting on April 23, 2025, to bring in a similar policy and noted that the state is currently working on a comprehensive framework for bike taxis.

The company added that its services meet the growing demand for affordable urban transport and that any disruption could affect the livelihoods of six lakh registered riders in Karnataka.

Guntupalli told Moneycontrol Rapido alone accounts for 5 lakh rides in the state, creating 1.5 lakh daily jobs, and that an estimated 8 lakh rides happen in the state across players. He added that this ground reality is being factored in by policymakers.

Entry into Goa

Apart from Karnataka, Guntupalli said Rapido is actively looking to enter Goa with its full suite of offerings once the state finalises its policy framework.

He noted that Goa’s tourism-driven economy makes bike taxis a relevant and scalable option, citing high bike ownership and tourist footfalls.

“We believe digitising transportation in Goa will help both the captain and the customer… we will be entering with all the categories we have,” he said.

Guntupalli also said Rapido is supporting quick commerce platforms like Zepto as a logistics partner to boost earnings for its captains, especially during non-peak hours.

“We are partnering with quick commerce players. This is clearly done with the intent of enhancing our captain’s earnings,” he said.

On regulatory scrutiny by CCPA for pre-ride tipping, Guntupalli said Rapido operates as a SaaS platform and does not control prices or take commissions.

He also said the company is not aware of any formal notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority.

Rapdio's FY25 Outlook

Guntupalli said Rapido expects 2X year-on-year growth across its bike taxi, auto, and cab segments in FY25, and aims to maintain profitability after turning EBITDA positive in Q4 FY24.

Rapido reported a revenue of Rs 648 crore in FY24, marking a 46.3 percent increase from Rs 443 crore in FY23. Rapido also significantly narrowed losses — to Rs 370 crore in FY24 from Rs 675 crore in the previous year.

The company is currently present in over 250 cities and is looking to deepen presence in northern India after starting with southern states.