Rapido to launch pool taxi services to Bengaluru airport starting at ₹350: Report

This initiative is expected to lower costs significantly compared to the high fares passengers currently pay for private rides.

Ride-hailing platform Rapido is gearing up to launch taxi pooling services for Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, aiming to offer shared and cost-effective transportation options, Indian Express reported.

Rapido aims to make airport-to-city travel more affordable by launching a pooling service

According to report, Aravind Sanka, co-founder of Rapido, announced the initiative during the EV & Future of Mobility session at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday.

Rapido aims to make airport-to-city travel more affordable by launching a pooling service that allows multiple passengers to share a single vehicle, the report added.

This initiative is expected to lower costs significantly compared to the high fares passengers currently pay for private rides, while also enhancing accessibility.

Arvind Sanka highlighted that shared rides are a practical solution for making transportation affordable without requiring significant infrastructure investments. “The idea is simple: optimize the resources we already have by allowing people to share rides. One vehicle can serve multiple passengers heading in the same direction,” he explained as reported by the publication.

Rapido has already introduced autorickshaw pooling in Bengaluru, focusing on areas with high demand for rides on similar routes. The response, according to Sanka, has been positive, with shared rides becoming increasingly popular.

Airport trips starting at ₹350

Rapido’s airport pooling service is expected to rival existing options like Quick Ride, which offers airport trips starting at ₹350. Currently, aggregator apps charge between ₹900 and ₹1,400 for private rides to the airport.

Rapido is working on a balanced pricing model to benefit both passengers and drivers according to the Arvind Sanka.

Recently, a Bengaluru techie exposed a new kind of scam perpetrated by a few cab drivers who take passengers to the airport on a daily basis. He asked people, especially women, to be careful while travelling to the airport in cabs, as the drivers might charge extra money by implementing this vile plan.

A techie named Shivam Sourav Jha took to X and wrote, “So folks, here is a new scam going on in Bengaluru by our beloved cab drivers when going to the airport (with girls, especially). They stop vehicles midway citing no fuel and ask you to pay at the petrol pump, saying 1100 is shown, but I would need only 1000.”