Rapido launches auto services in 14 Indian cities

New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Bike taxi service provider Rapido on Thursday launched its auto services in 14 cities across 10 states.

According to the company, the service will allow commuters to book autos for their everyday commute from the comfort and safety of their home.

Rapido said it to bring standardisation to the pricing of the services offered for the auto drivers and customers.

"Autos have emerged as a preferred way of commuting post the COVID-19 pandemic after bike taxis. While the auto service industry is highly penetrated, it has only 5 per cent of its existing market online,'' Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder, Rapido, said in a statement.

The service will be available at the meter price with an additional minimal convenience fee.

The company plans to expand the auto services to 50 cities in India by the end of 2020.

This is the first phase of the launch and Rapido said it has already on-boarded 20,000 auto Captains (driver-partners) so far.

It has plans to onboard more than half a million in the next six months and interested auto drivers can self-onboard themselves by downloading Rapido Captain App or calling the Rapido helpline number.

Each Rapido auto will be powered with Rapido's GPS technology ensuring access to continuous demand from customers around them. Through Rapido Auto, users will be able to track and share their ride in real-time, with their loved ones.

Rapido Auto, like Rapido Bike Taxi service, will have an in-app feedback mechanism to allow for and ensure a safe and consistent experience for commuters.

The captains will be expected to sanitize and clean the seats and all customer accessible areas, post every ride, along with mandatory usage of masks during the entire ride by the Captains and the passengers.

The company also introduced new policy support where the company provides free cancellation if Captains or customers are without a mask.