Rapido Bags Karnataka Cab Aggregator Licence Till 2031

Mobility unicorn Rapido has secured the cab aggregator licence from the Karnataka State Transport Authority. 

Granted under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, the licence will enable Rapido to operate four-wheeler ride-hailing services in the state till August 2031. 

“This development gives us the opportunity to strengthen our cab offering within a formal regulatory framework, while continuing to work closely with the Government of Karnataka and the Transport Department to support safe, reliable and accessible mobility for commuters,” said cofounder Pavan Guntupalli. 

The bike taxi giant offers its services across 21 cities in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Belagavi. The platform claims to have onboarded over 3 Lakh captains across Karnataka and claims to be serving over 2 Cr registered customers in the state. 

Separately, Rapido said that it has been inducted into the state government’s Urban Mobility Mission. The initiative focuses on strengthening multi-modal transport infrastructure, improving first- and last-mile connectivity, and integrating technology across the state’s transit systems. 

Despite the outreach, the platform’s core bike taxi offering appears to be facing heat from local authorities. Just a few days ago, the Karnataka government informed the Supreme Court that bike taxis raised concerns around passenger safety, insurance coverage and women’s safety. 

The arguments came as the SC was hearing the state government’s appeal against a January 2026 ruling by the Karnataka HC, which reversed the state government’s attempt to ban bike taxis. 

Founded in 2015 by Guntupalli, Aravind Sanka, and Rishikesh SR, Rapido operates a ride-hailing platform. Initially starting as a bike taxi platform, it has since ventured into categories like metro ticket bookings as well as flight, hotel, bus and train bookings.

Most notably, it recently also launched a zero-commission food delivery platform, Ownly, positioning it as an alternative to incumbents like Swiggy and Eternal-owned Zomato. Ownly is scaling up at a time when restaurant owners are getting increasingly vocal about how delivery platforms’ business models are squeezing their own economics. 

In May, it raised $240 Mn in a round led by existing backer Prosus with participation from WestBridge Capital, Accel and others. The startup has raised total funding of $1.5 Bn to date from investors like Accel, WestBridge Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners. 

On the financial front, Rapido narrowed its loss by 30.3% to ₹258.4 Cr in FY25 from ₹370.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, its top line rose 44.2% to ₹934.4 Cr from ₹648 Cr in FY24

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