Rapido vs Ola: Why Uber’s CEO Sees Rapido as India’s Biggest Ride-Hailing Rival

India’s ride-hailing market has been one of the most dynamic business landscapes in the last decade. For years, Ola and Uber dominated the space as a duopoly. But recently, Rapido vs Ola rivalry has shaken the market in 2025 by capturing significant market share and winning customer’s attention with remarkable offers and features. Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi admitted that Rapido is now Uber’s toughest rival in India.

This change offers some valuable lessons for business management sophomores, reflecting how strategic market disruption and reshape competitive positioning and creat new opportunities. Overall, a detailed discussion of critical elements is presented in a case study format, which can help to introspect on real-world business challenges, identify strategic opportunities, and apply classroom concepts to evolve the industry scenario.

Market Shift: Ola to Rapido

Rapido, introduced in India in 2015 by founders Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and Rishikesh SR, has steadily transformed the country’s ride-hailing by addressing a key gap in the bike taxi market in the Indian landscape. While Ola was traditionally Uber’s biggest competitor in India. By April 2025, Rapido had already secured 40% market share, including 20% share for the four-wheeler segment, overruling Ola’s dominance in the market. Rapido's stronghold lies in the bike-taxi service, offering affordability and convenience for short-distance commutes. Their strategy strongly resonates with India’s price-sensitive customers and is a formidable challenge to both Ola and Uber.

Critical Analysis: Rapido started smartly by focusing on a small but important segment, short-distance cost-friendly mobility. Once it built a strong presence then gradually scaled the model into four-wheelers and food delivery. This demonstrates the power of starting small, dominating the niche market, and then confidently expanding horizontally.

Business Model Innovation: Subscription vs Commission

Traditionally, Uber and Ola charge drivers on a commission-based model, charging drivers between 15%–20% on every ride they complete. While this keeps the revenue following for the platforms, it often leaves motorists dissatisfied and unhappy, as a significant portion of their earnings was deducted before they even received their share. Rapido changed the game by disintegrating this pattern and introducing a subscription-grounded model, where motorists pay a fixed fee outspoken and, in return, get to keep 100% of their fare. This innovation not only addressed long-standing concerns around motorist earnings but also positioned Rapido as a more motorist-friendly alternative. As a result, there were immediate—more drivers began onboarding with Rapido, strengthening its network and availability for customers. Seeing this success, Uber and Ola were compelled to adapt and introduce their own subscription options, but Rapido’s first-mover advantage allowed it to capture trust and loyalty among drivers much faster, fueling its rapid-fire growth in the ride-hailing ecosystem.

Critical Analysis: This example highlights how a small change in the principle of business model innovation, where a small strategic shift in pricing can promptly change the market dynamics. In the Rapido case, moving from a commission-based structure to a subscription-based model reduced the friction for captains and became more adaptable to the ride-hailing platform, with higher trust and loyalty within the ecosystem. This emphasis on the understanding of the stakeholders group, like captains in this case. This also reminds us that innovation is not only about advanced technology or product features; it can also lie in rethinking how values are captured and delivered to keep the harmony in the industry.

Diversification: Beyond Ride Hailing

Rapido is no longer just about mobility; it has strategically ventured beyond ride-hailing with the launch of Ownly, its food delivery platform. By moving into a market already ruled by giants like Zomato and Swiggy, Rapido demonstrated its ambition to diversify profit sources while staking on its present client base. This strategic move allows Rapido to engage in cross-selling, offering customers multiple services through a single platform, which not only helps to boost customer retention but also enhances overall brand recall. For the company, such diversification reduces dependence on one business vertical and builds resilience against market fluctuations. 

Critical Analysis: From an academic standpoint, this is a textbook example of the Ansoff Matrix in action—Rapido moving from market penetration through bike taxis to diversification with food delivery. For MBA students, it provides a real-world understanding of how businesses expand strategically into adjacent categories to sustain growth, compete effectively, and build long-term customer loyalty.

Takeaway From Case Study

• Rapido vs. Ola case study proved disruption can break the duopolies, as the industry are dominated by two giants, which have been deranged by just a simple customer need.

• Rapido has built a strong goodwill and customer loyalty through its innovative business model and pricing flexibility, outpacing its two big competitors.

• Rather than going head-on with Ola and Uber, Rapido choose to grow on customer-centric scaling.  

• With their agility, they quickly diversify into other trendy market that reflects how agility can define long-term survival.

How BIBS Prepares Students to Decode Market Disruptions

At the Bengal Institute of Business Studies, one of the best MBA colleges in Kolkata, students are not limited to classroom theories; they are immersed in real-world case studies that bring out the complexity of a business. By analysing the industry shift, such as Rapido vs Ola rivalry, sophomores can learn how market unfolds disruption, what are the grounds when a traditional leader loses its field, and the challenges created by the space.

At BIBS, these lessons are not just theoretical; they are integrated directly into its curriculum through courses like Business Strategy, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, where students are introduced to criticality and openly discuss the diverse analyses relating to their classroom practices. But it doesn’t stop in the classroom. Beyond academics, BIBS also emphasizes practical learning through similar live case studies, corporate interaction, and industry-focused projects, ensuring each student can take what they have learn and apply it by bridging the gap between theory and practice.