CHENNAI: In a bid to attract more women users to the platform, bike taxi operator Rapido plans to deploy more women drivers, and expand its women drivers-only feature in selected pockets like women's colleges.
The startup plans to deploy over 2,500 women riders across the country in the next three months and is looking to further expand the pool of women drivers.
Rapido is planning to enrol more than 500 women captains in Chennai city alone. It is working with various non-profits to induct, and train women from underprivileged backgrounds and offer additional benefits such as insurance, flexible working hours, minimum guarantee pay, and low commission, the company said.
Rapido is already offering a 'Bike Pink' service, which allows users to travel only with a female driver and plans to expand this service.
Recently this feature was introduced at 10 women's colleges in Chennai including Ethiraj College for Women, Stella Maris College for Women, Queen Maris College for Women, MOP Vaishnav College for Women, SIET Women’s College, Quaid-E-Millath College for Women and Chellamal Women’s College.
The company says it aims to provide financial support to women, break gender barriers in the transportation sector and provide more diverse transportation options for passengers.
This illustrates the company's efforts to encourage more women to use the app by ensuring their sense of safety, given that women users witness harassment and indecent incidents in bike taxi platforms.
The company didn't specify the preferences of women users but said they are based on a lot of factors including cultural norms.
"While some women may feel safer with female drivers due to shared gender experiences and perceptions of safety, others may not have a strong preference or may prioritize other factors like driver ratings, vehicle quality, or convenience."
"However, referral programs and NGOs have been seen to emphasize women-to-women mapping which suggests a proactive approach to foster a sense of comfort and trust among women captains. It will also empower more women to participate in the ride-sharing workforce," Rapido said in response to TNIE's query.
These women were also provided electric bikes by Rapido in a way to reduce its carbon footprint.