• Source:JND
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The Central Government has officially launched Bharat Taxi, the country’s first cooperative taxi-hailing service, aimed at providing a driver-friendly and commuter-focused alternative to private players like Ola and Uber. The initiative is being developed under the Union Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).

With this platform, the government aims to address long-standing public concerns such as high surge pricing, ride cancellations, cleanliness issues, and steep commissions that have impacted both passengers and drivers in existing app-based services.

A Commission-Free Model for Drivers

Bharat Taxi won’t charge as much as private taxi aggregators, which charge around 25% commission per ride. Instead, it will work on a subscription basis, where the drivers will keep all the earnings and will just pay a small daily, weekly or monthly fee to the cooperative.

The Center believes that this system will help the drivers make greater profits while also providing better services for the customers.

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Pilot Launch in November

The pilot rollout begins in November 2025 in Delhi with:

- 650 taxis

- Owner-drivers only

If successful, a wider rollout will follow in December, expanding to other major urban centres.

Rapid Expansion Roadmap

Government officials have outlined an aggressive expansion plan:

Phase

Coverage

Driver Count

Timeline

Initial Rollout

Major Indian cities

5,000

Dec 2025

Phase 2

20 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur

—

2026

Phase 3

Metro + District HQs + Rural regions

1 lakh

By 2030

Cooperative Governance Structure

Bharat Taxi will function under Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, registered in June 2025 with an initial capital of ₹300 crore.

Key leadership:

Chairman: Jayen Mehta, MD — Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul)

Vice Chairman: Rohit Gupta, Deputy MD — National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)

There will be government supervision, but no private company will have the corporate power, which fits with the cooperative objective.

Why It Matters?

- Fair earnings for drivers

- Cleaner, regulated taxi service for consumers

- Competition for existing dominant players

- Expansion beyond metros into rural India

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