Bharat Taxi Launched: In a significant move to challenge private cab aggregators, such as Ola and Uber, the central government on Friday launched “Bharat Taxi”, India’s first cooperative taxi service. This service, developed under the Union Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), empowers drivers by giving them full control over their earnings, while offering commuters a government-regulated alternative to private cab services.
Need For Cooperative Cab Service In India
- App-based taxi services have faced growing complaints over the years, including dirty or poorly maintained vehicles, inflated fares with sudden surge pricing, and arbitrary ride cancellations.
- Drivers have also expressed dissatisfaction with app-based taxi services over high commission rates, sometimes losing up to 25 per cent of their fare revenue to companies.
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- The new “Bharat Taxi” platform aims to address these issues. Unlike private cab aggregators, drivers on Bharat Taxi won’t pay any commission on their rides and retain more of their earnings.
How Bharat Taxi Works: Driver-Owned, Commission-Free Rides
- Bharat Taxi is a cooperative taxi service that will allow drivers to retain full control of their earnings while providing commuters with a government-regulated and reliable alternative to private cab services.
- The platform will operate as a cooperative enterprise rather than a privately owned company.
- The drivers will participate through a membership model, paying only a nominal daily, weekly, or monthly fee. With a nominal membership fee, the government aims to help drivers retain more of their earnings.
- The platform will be managed by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, which was established in June 2025 with an initial capital of Rs 300 crore.
- A newly constituted governing council will oversee Bharat Taxi, with Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, the name behind Amul, serving as chairman. Rohit Gupta, Deputy Managing Director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), will act as vice chairman.
Bharat Taxi Pilot Project In Delhi: What To Expect
- Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative cab service, will launch its pilot phase in Delhi this November with 650 vehicles and their owner-drivers.
- Upon successful completion of the pilot phase, the service will be expanded nationwide in December.
- The first nationwide phase will see 5,000 drivers, both men and women, joining the cooperative cab service platform, gradually expanding to 20 major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Lucknow, and Jaipur over the next year.
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- In future, the government plans to establish operations in major metropolitan cities by March 2026, with a long-term vision of including up to 1 lakh drivers by 2030, reaching district headquarters and rural regions.