To empower women in the state, the Andhra Pradesh government has partnered with the bike taxi service company Rapido. The government would supply e-bikes and e-autos to self-help group members possessing a driving license and facilitate their connection with Rapido.
The government intends to initially supply approximately 400 e-bikes and e-autos in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, with further deployment in smaller cities such as Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, and Kurnool. These small cities will jointly receive an additional 200 automobiles.
Reports indicate that the government will facilitate financing through the Mudra scheme and other self-employment programs for women to acquire vehicles.
According to the agreement with Rapido, female drivers of these vehicles will be exempt from platform fees for the initial three months. Subsequently, they would be required to remit Rs 1,000 monthly. The bike taxi company would facilitate 300 bookings monthly for each vehicle.