Bharat Taxi: What is India's cooperative ride-hailing platform

Bharat Taxi, India’s new cooperative-based ride-hailing platform, was launched by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on June 27 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The rollout marked a formal expansion of the service across 14 major cities in Gujarat and included participation from Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, senior state ministers, cooperative institutions, and more than 4,000 drivers. Shah framed the initiative as an alternative economic model to private app-based cab aggregators, arguing that drivers can become stakeholders rather than relying on large technology companies that control pricing, commissions, and customer access. He said existing platforms have exploited drivers through high commissions, delayed payments, suspensions tied to customer complaints without adequate hearings, and limited bargaining power. Developed under the cooperative sector via Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited with support including Amul, IFFCO and NABARD, Bharat Taxi promotes a zero-commission approach intended to keep the largest share of earnings with drivers. The minister said around seven lakh drivers already became shareholders.