New Delhi, Feb 5 (UNI) union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will launch India’s first cooperative-sector ride-hailing platform, “Bharat Taxi,” at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, marking a major step towards empowering drivers through a cooperative ownership model.
Shah highlighted the significance of the initiative on social media platform X, saying that cooperation allows many people to come together, invest small amounts of capital, and create something impactful, citing Bharat Taxi as a prime example.
Calling the day significant for taxi drivers, Shah said the country’s first cooperative-sector taxi service, ‘Bharat Taxi’, launched in New Delhi, marking an important milestone for driver brothers and sisters.
He added that through ‘Bharat Taxi’, drivers will not only be able to earn higher profits but will also become owners of the service with dignity. Shah said he was looking forward to participating in the launch programme.
Conceptualised as a transformative initiative in the mobility sector, Bharat Taxi places drivers referred to as Sarathis at the centre of ownership, operations and value creation, freeing them from exploitative aggregator-based systems, the Ministry of Cooperation said in a statement.
During the launch programme, Shah will honour the top six performing Sarathis for their outstanding contributions to the cooperative mobility ecosystem and distribute share certificates to them, reinforcing the principle of “Sarathi Hi Malik”.
Each honoured driver will receive personal accident insurance and family health coverage of Rs 5 lakh each.
On the occasion, nine Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will be exchanged with key public and private stakeholders to strengthen operational integration, digital empowerment, safety and service delivery.
Registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, Bharat Taxi was established on June 6, 2025. It operates on a zero-commission and surge-free pricing model with direct profit distribution to drivers, offering an indigenous alternative to foreign investment-based aggregator platforms.
The platform prioritises social security for Sarathis through health and accident insurance, retirement savings and a dedicated driver support system, with support centres currently operational at seven locations in Delhi. It also provides rapid emergency assistance, verified ride data and allows drivers to work on other platforms without exclusivity clauses.
To promote women’s empowerment, initiatives such as “Bike Didi” have been launched, with over 150 women drivers joining Bharat Taxi so far.
Since its inception, Bharat Taxi has emerged as the world’s first and largest cooperative-based ride-hailing platform and the world’s largest driver-owned mobility platform. About four lakh drivers and over 10 lakh users have registered on the platform, while nearly Rs 10 crore has been distributed directly to drivers to date.
The platform plans to expand to all States and cities within the next two years, establish support centres nationwide, and deepen integration with national digital public infrastructure to build a sustainable, inclusive cooperative mobility ecosystem.
More than 1,200 Sarathis from across the country are expected to participate in the launch programme, reflecting the platform’s growing national reach and drivers’ confidence in the cooperative-based mobility model.
UNI PKJ AAB