In bizarre bike snatching, Rapido Captain left stranded as customer speeds away

A Rapido bike rider (Captain) has filed a complaint with the Panjagutta police in Hyderabad, alleging that a customer who booked a ride stole his bike after sending him to buy food. The incident, according to a Times of India report, occurred on the night of November 30. The culprit has not been located yet.

The complainant works as a Rapido bike rider and resides in a hostel in Panjagutta. On November 30 at 8:30 PM, he borrowed his friend's scooter to offer rides on Rapido, according to the complaint. He received a booking from Begumpet railway station to the airport.

"After I picked up the customer and started the ride, he asked me to stop the scooter at NFCL X roads. The customer requested I buy him a shawarma and gave me money. When I returned, the customer was not there, and my scooter was also missing," he said.


Ride-hailing company Rapido recently announced its entry into the cab services sector, where it will compete with Ola and Uber. The company has launched the service in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru with approximately 1.2 lakh cabs. By September 2024, Rapido plans to expand to around 35 cities, as stated by Rapido Co-founder Pavan Guntupalli.

"Over the course of 10 years, not more than 25 percent of individuals have participated in app-based services. Our goal is to bring all these individuals online and increase the market. With a zero commission model, we will maximize their revenues without burdening users," said founder Guntupalli.

Rapido captains or driver partners will receive direct payment from customers without any commission deduction by Rapido. However, they will be required to pay a subscription fee after reaching a certain earnings threshold.

Rapido, a software-as-a-service-based company, plans to invest in adding electric vehicles to its fleet. However, it will operate the rest of its cab services at a break-even level. The company aims to expand its services to Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai between January and March 2024, ultimately covering a total of 35 cities by September 2024, according to Guntupalli.