Ride-hailing unicorn Rapido has announced partnerships with MakeMyTrip-owned Goibibo, ixigo-owned ConfirmTkt, and redBus to offer train, flight, bus, and hotel booking from its app. 

With these offerings, Rapido aims to become a one-stop app for travel, providing seamless mobility experience to its 5 Cr active users from over 400 cities in the country. Rapido said it is positioned to onboard the next 10 Cr digital travel users by bundling daily mobility and travel booking in one app.

While Goibibo provides hotel and flight bookings, redBus is an online bus ticketing platform for inter-city bus bookings. Meanwhile, ConfirmTkt is an authorised B2C online train ticketing platform. 

For the new offerings, Rapido has added a new ‘travel’ section on the home screen on its app.

Rapido Expands Its Playing Field 

With the partnership, Goibibo, ConfirmTkt, and redBus are looking to further expand their user base by leveraging Rapido’s reach. For Rapido, the move marks another step in its ongoing diversification play.

The ride-hailing startup began as a bike-taxi platform for short-distance urban commutes and has now evolved into a full-fledged mobility app. Over the years, it expanded beyond its core bike ride-hailing business to offer auto and cab booking services. 

Earlier this year, Rapido also forayed into the food delivery business with the launch of Ownly to challenge Zomato and Swiggy.

The diversification reflects Rapido’s strategic shift towards becoming a multi-service platform rather than a single-category player, allowing it to compete with both ride-hailing majors and foodtech giants. 

By integrating diverse offerings under one platform, Rapido aims to boost app engagement and diversify its revenue streams. 

The latest development comes at a time when Rapido is looking to close a funding round at $500 Mn to $550 Mn. The round would be a mix of primary and secondary transactions, including Swiggy’s stake sale. 

On the financial front, while Rapido is yet to file the financial numbers for FY25, it is expected to cross INR 1,000 Cr revenue mark in the year. In FY24, it trimmed its loss by more than 45% to INR 370 Cr from INR 675 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue zoomed 46% to INR 648.1 Cr during the year from INR 443 Cr in FY23.