Rapido seeks bike taxi license in Indian state after breather from court

India’s Rapido, a two-wheeler ride-sharing platform, said it has filed a bike taxi service application with the transport authority of the southern state of Karnataka.

The announcement comes on the heels of a directive from the state’s high court earlier this year that urged the local government to come up with a roadmap for issuing permits to two-wheeler taxi services. The verdict could potentially pave the way for bike taxis to be able to carry one pillion passenger each.

Photo credit: Rapido

Rapido said it was looking forward to a positive response from the state government. It added that the company was open to collaborating with the Karnataka government and other state governments on framing guidelines to regulate commercial two-wheeler services.

Bike taxi operators have faced scrutiny and bans in a number of Indian states, besides drawing criticism from taxi and auto drivers. In 2016, Karnataka’s transport authority effectively banned bike taxis, including those run by Rapido and competitor Ola, as the state did not have a policy framework to regulate two-wheeler ride-sharing services.

In 2019, the state government cracked down on bike taxi platforms that were operating without necessary permits and commercial licenses.

“The aggregators are allowing whiteboard two-wheelers, meant for personal use, to run as bike taxis or other purposes. They are risking the lives of customers. We want the Transport Department to take action against those who are operating such services,” Somashekhar, president of Namma Chalakara Trade Union had told The Hindu at the time.

In India, a whiteboard license plate designates a privately owned vehicle, whereas a yellow board license plate signifies a commercial vehicle or taxi.

Despite the framework and regulatory challenges, Rapido has grown its operations to have a presence in more than 100 cities in the country. It says it has 15 million customers with over 1.5 million registered driver-partners.

Besides introducing a revamped application, Rapido said in a press note that it plans to hire 100 women as driver-partners in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, by the end of 2022.

“The city is one of our top cities in terms of usage and with the ongoing updates in the legal framework for our operations, we want to onboard more women captains to give the local sheroes a chance to become economically independent through a safer, choice-based and support-led experience,” said Rapido co-founder Pavan Guntupali.