India's first cooperative taxi service 'Bharat Taxi' set to launch in December with driver-owned model

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The central government has launched a new initiative to curb private taxi services like Ola and Uber and provide drivers with better earning opportunities. The government-run cooperative taxi service, "Bharat Taxi," is soon to launch in the country. This scheme will be the country's first cooperative taxi service, in which drivers themselves will be co-owners of the company.

The biggest feature of Bharat Taxi , a tough challenge for Ola and Uber, is that drivers will not have to pay any commission. The entire earnings from each ride will go directly into the driver's account. This will increase the drivers' income compared to private companies like Ola and Uber, and passengers will also get the opportunity to travel at transparent fares.

Bharat Taxi's pilot project will be launched in Delhi in November 2025. In the initial phase, 650 drivers and vehicle owners will join this service. After this, from December 2025, it will be expanded to other cities of the country - Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Bhopal, Jaipur and 20 major cities. The Centre's target is to have more than 5,000 drivers on board this platform by December.

Under whose aegis will this service operate?

Bharat Taxi was jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). An organization called Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited has been formed to operate it. It will be governed by a special council, with Amul Managing Director Jayen Mehta as its chairman.

The app will provide convenience, easy and multilingual interface

Bharat Taxi app will be made available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Apart from Hindi and English, this app can also be used in Gujarati and Marathi languages. Users will just have to download the app and book a ride, just like Ola-Uber. Bharat Taxi's model will be completely membership based. Drivers will only have to pay a daily, weekly or monthly charge**, which will be very nominal. The driver will get 100 percent fare of every ride.