Bengaluru-based ride-hailing platform Rapido is set to introduce ‘Pink Rapido’, a women-driven bike taxi service designed exclusively for female passengers. Slated for launch in Karnataka by the end of the year, the initiative aims to create safer commuting options for women while also generating thousands of job opportunities.
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25,000 Jobs for Women: Rapido’s Big Bet on Female Riders
Announcing the plan at the Global Investors Summit in Bengaluru, Rapido’s co-founder, Pavan Guntupalli, revealed the company’s ambitious goal of hiring and training 25,000 women as ‘captains’—Rapido’s term for its drivers. He emphasized that success would be measured not just in numbers, but in how comfortable a woman feels getting on a bike with a driver she has never met before.
The company plans to remove employment barriers by welcoming women with no prior specialized training and offering them structured safety and driving programs. Guntupalli noted that 35% of Rapido’s workforce already comes from smaller cities and towns, and he expects this number to grow as more women from local communities join the platform.
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Learning from Chennai’s ‘Bike Pink’ Initiative
Rapido has already tested a similar model in Chennai, where it launched ‘Bike Pink’ in September 2023. The service equipped female drivers with electric bikes and partnered with local nonprofits to provide safety and driving training. Within months of launch, the program had over 100 active women drivers, with Rapido targeting 500+ drivers in the following months.
A Competitive Space: Uber Steps In
Rapido isn’t the only player focusing on women’s safety in the ride-hailing sector. Uber launched ‘Uber Moto Women’ in Bengaluru in December 2024, connecting female passengers with female drivers. With competition heating up, companies are racing to provide safer, more reliable transportation options for women.
The Road Ahead
With ‘Pink Rapido’, the company is betting big on safety, accessibility, and financial independence for women in Karnataka. If successful, this model could expand to more cities, helping reshape urban mobility for female commuters across India.
