Cab segment drives up to 25% of Rapido's total bookings

Ride-hailing unicorn Rapido is quickly scaling up its four-wheeler segment, which now contributes up to 25 per cent of its total bookings. Aravind Sanka, Rapido's cofounder, in a video interview with Udisha Srivastav, shares insights on the company's plans to expand into the segment, how BluSmart's exit has created an opportunity for the company, its push towards green mobility, and navigating state-specific policies. Edited excerpts:

- Aravind Sanka, Rapido's cofounder, in a video interview with Udisha Srivastav

What is your timeline to reach 500 cities?

We are adding at least 100 cities every quarter, and even in the last three months, we have launched in at least 150 cities. We are now present in 300 cities. So, by the end of this year, we should be present in 500 cities.

What is the vehicle segmentation on the platform?

A year ago, 70 per cent of rides were coming from two-wheelers. Today that number is at 50 per cent, indicating a significant growth in our three-wheeler and four-wheeler business. We launched cabs pan-India in January last year, and in 15 months, we have been able to build a business as big as our bike taxi business in terms of gross bookings. Currently, around 20-25 per cent of our bookings come from the cab segment. On an overall platform level, we have closer to two million captains. From that, 20 per cent of the captains (nearly 400,000) are four-wheeler captains.

How has BluSmart's exit created an opportunity for Rapido in the market?