India based bike-taxi operator Rapido has resumed service in over 35 cities across 11 states as per the new guidelines announced by the Centre for lockdown 4.0.
For now, Rapido’s bike taxi services will be operational in green and orange zones as the services cannot be extended to containment zones to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
“Resuming these operations will bring relief to around 3L Captains (driver-partners) that are solely dependent on the bike taxi service for their daily income and livelihood,” Rapido said in an official release.
“Bike Taxi is a more open and personalized way for intracity travel, as opposed to other crowded alternate ways like cabs, buses, autos and trains, where the customer has an advantage of less exposure to any infection due to his/her limited interaction with the captain,” it said.
The company has put certain safety protocols in place to resume its bike taxi services including multiple safety checks and guidelines for the drivers to follow before accepting rides to ensure customer safety.
Aarogya Setu app
Rapido has made it compulsory for its driver-partners to install the Aarogya Setu app and to wear a mask at all times. They will be required to carry sanitizers, hair net in addition to the mandatory helmets.
“Captains are asked to maintain personal hygiene and sanitize their bikes at regular intervals. Especially sanitize the pillion seat before onboarding customers in addition to wearing a mask at all times,” Rapido added.
The driver-partners will be provided with a checklist of items and declaration that they have to adhere to before accepting rides. This will be done every time they go online.
The platform will also collect feedback from customers after each ride and will provide free cancellation in case a driver-partner or customers come without a mask.
Rapido will display containment areas on its app to ensure that driver-partners and customers steer clear of the same.
Additionally, the company will keep updating customers on the status of various cities and safety instructions via in-app notifications.