New Delhi: The Central government has launched a new project called “Bharat Taxi,” India’s first cooperative-based taxi service. It’s meant to give passengers and drivers a fairer, government-backed option instead of using private companies like Ola and Uber.
This new service is being developed by the Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). The goal is to ensure that drivers get to keep all the money they earn, rather than paying big commissions to private companies.
For years, people have complained about app-based taxis — dirty cars, random cancellations, price surges, and drivers losing up to 25 percent of their income to company commissions. Bharat Taxi aims to fix these issues.
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In this system, drivers will not pay any commission per ride. Instead, they will pay a small membership fee — either daily, weekly, or monthly. This cooperative model should help them earn more money overall.
The pilot project will start in November in Delhi with 650 taxis. If it works well, Bharat Taxi will expand to other major cities by December. Around 5,000 drivers, including women, will join in the first nationwide rollout. Over the next year, the service plans to reach 20 cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Lucknow, and Jaipur. By March 2026, major metro areas will be covered, and by 2030, Bharat Taxi hopes to have 1 lakh (100,000) driver-members across India, including rural areas.
Bharat Taxi will be run by the Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, formed in June 2025 with Rs 300 crore in start-up funds. It will not be owned by private shareholders but by the drivers themselves as members.
A governing council will look after the company. Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of Amul’s parent organisation (GCMMF), will be the Chairman, while Rohit Gupta, Deputy MD of the National Cooperative Development Corporation, will be the Vice Chairman.
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