#StartupsVsCovid19: Rapido Forays Into Hyperlocal Delivery On Lockdown Day 41 & More

Bike taxi startup Rapido has launched a new on-demand person-to-person delivery service Rapido Box. Using the new service, customers can either send food, groceries and medicine to other users or can receive the same items from other users.

Rapido will leverage its already existing fleet of riders to ensure deliveries across three cities — Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The newly launched service will also aim to boost the earnings of riders.

The startup has set a base price of INR 35 for two kilometres while additional INR 15 per two kilometres will be charged to users. People can track their orders through a URL which will be shared through SMS. The service is quite similar to what Dunzo and Swiggy Genie are currently offering.

A company’s spokesperson told Inc42 that the company is expecting around 25% of its revenue from the logistics business which was earlier 10% only. The company will also continue the service post lockdown as a permanent addition to Rapido’s logistic business model.

Ola Aims To Prioritise Safety

With the ministry of home affairs easing restrictions in select zones across the country, cab aggregator Ola has launched a new safety initiative, ‘10 Steps to a Safer Ride’ as it resumes operations in more than 100 cities in green and orange zones.

The initiative aims at protecting both the customers and driver-partners to take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As a protocol, all rides will be driven only across the safe zones. Moreover, all the driver-partners will have to share a selfie before and after every ride.

Further, a flexible cancellation policy has also been introduced. Under this policy, both the customer and driver-partner can cancel the ride if they feel the other party is not following hygiene rules or for not wearing a mask. Ola claimed that all cars will be cleaned and sanitized after each ride while driver-partners and customers have been asked to follow hygiene practices at all times.

Curefit Layoffs & Salary Cuts

Curefit has decided to lay off around 1,000 employees, while at the same time, it is pulling back on its Tier 2 presence with shutting down of physical fitness centres. Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori-led startup are now also looking to monetise the free virtual classes it had introduced in late March in light of the coronavirus lockdown. It is said to employ over 8K people across the country.

The fitness startup has offered employees the option of either taking their salary for May along with a final settlement in June or ending their employment in June to show more work experience on their resume and receive a final settlement in June. However, there is no work for these employees regardless of whether they decide to stick around until June.

Aarogya Setu Launches Mitr Telemedicine Portal

The government has launched a new Mitr portal to offer free telemedicine and consultation services for coronavirus-related inquiries Aarogya Setu to make it a one-stop solution for all healthcare and Covid-19 prevention needs. Aarogya Setu Mitr would also allow the users to book doorstep lab tests.

The location tracking app has partnered with Swasth Foundation, Project StepOne, Tata Bridgital Health and Tech Mahindra’s healthcare initiative Connectsense Telehealth to offer teleconsultation service from verified doctors.