Shah launches India’s first cooperative-based taxi service ‘Bharat Taxi’

Within three years, ‘Bharat Taxi’ will be available across the country

06/02/2026

NEW DELHI, Feb 5: The Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched the 'Bharat Taxi' App, aimed at strengthening cooperative participation and enhancing welfare measures for taxi drivers across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah said the launch of the Sahkar Taxi initiative was being held in the presence of around 8 lakh sarathi (driver) represen-tatives and several cooperative bodies.
"This launch of Sahkar Taxi is taking place in the presence of 800,000 Sarathi representatives and some cooperatives, so that within three years, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Kamakhya, across the entire country, this Sahkar Taxi is going to become a very significant means for the welfare of our taxi Sarathis", he SAID.
Bharat Taxi is India's first cooperative-led ride-hailing platform registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and was established on June 6, 2025. The platform operates on a zero-commission, surge-free pricing model, with direct distribution of profits to drivers, offering an indigenous alternative to foreign-investment-based aggregator platforms.
Bharat Taxi prioritises social security for Sarathis through health insurance, accident insurance, retirement savings, and a dedicated driver support system. Support centres are being operated at seven key locations in Delhi. The platform provides rapid emergency assistance and verified ride data, and allows drivers to work on other platforms without exclusivity clauses. To promote women's empowerment, initiatives such as "Bike Didi" are being implemented, under which more than 150 women drivers have joined 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. More than three lakh drivers have joined the platform, over one lakh users are registered, and more than 10,000 rides are being completed daily in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat. Approximately Rs 10 crore has been disbursed directly to drivers to date.
In the next two years, Bharat Taxi aims to expand to all States and cities across the country, establish dedicated support centres in every state, further strengthen drivers' social security, and develop a sustainable, inclusive, and cooperative-based mobility ecosystem through deeper integration with national digital public infrastructure.
More than 1,200 Sarathis from across the country are expected to participate in this launch programme, underscoring the platform's growing national reach and drivers' confidence in the cooperative-based mobility model.
Shah said that perhaps for the first time in the whole world, such a unique company is coming into existence whose real owner is neither any individual nor any external company, but the Sarathi who drives the taxi. Every Sarathi brother-sister associated with Sahakar Taxi is the true owner of this cooperative taxi society. He said this concept will bring a fundamental transformation in the life, self-confidence, and economic condition of the Sarathis who join Sahakar Taxi. Shri Shah also said that many such models have succeeded in our country earlier. Only 11 milk producers started Amul. Today, in Gujarat, a huge banyan tree of more than 36 lakh women livestock-rearers has taken shape. These women livestock-rearers do business worth more than one lakh twenty-five thousand crore rupees. He said this model shows that when ordinary people themselves become owners, even a small beginning can yield very big results. He said that today, women livestock-rearers are earning up to one crore rupees annually by selling milk, which is the marvel of the cooperative model.
Shah appealed to taxi Sarathis that they are driving taxis now; they will continue to drive taxis even after joining Sahakar Taxi, but there will be one major difference between the two. He said that at present, the wheel of the taxi puts money into someone else’s pocket, but now the earnings from the wheel of the Sarathis’ taxis will go into the Sarathis’ own pockets. He said this idea is born from the spirit of cooperation. The real meaning of cooperation is that when many people with small amounts of capital pool their strength, they can together accomplish very big tasks. Those with very large capital do big work alone and the profit also remains limited to only a few people. Shri Shah said that the cooperative model being discussed today is the newest and most successful beginning in today’s time. He said now the wheel of the taxi will not run for someone else’s earnings, but for the prosperity and well-being of taxi Sarathis.
Union Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah said that many world-class cooperative models have already been built in India, including Amul, IFFCO, KRIBHCO and similar institutions. He said none of these cooperative institutions had very large initial capital. Similarly, in Sahakar Taxi, the highest share capital is only 500 rupees, and that very 500 rupees is giving Sarathis the status of real owners. He said this small amount is going to become the foundation of the taxi Sarathis’ hard work, self-respect, and economic freedom.
Shah said that after elections held every five years, two representatives chosen by taxi Sarathis will sit on the Board. They will look after their interests and take decisions for them. This is the soul of cooperatives and the spirit of true ownership rights. He said Sahakar Taxi will keep only 20 percent of the total profit with itself; that is, out of 100 rupees, Sahakar Taxi will keep only 20 rupees with itself—whose owners are Sarathis themselves. Shri Shah said the entire profit will go into the account of the Sarathi associated with Bharat Taxi. He said the owners of the 20 rupees that remain in Bharat Taxi’s capital account will also be Sarathis themselves.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that Bharat Taxi has been conceptualised by bringing together all three existing types of taxi vehicles, including four-wheeler taxis, three-wheelers, and two-wheelers. He conveyed a message to the nation’s Matri Shakti that Bharat Taxi will accord the highest priority to their safety. He said we have prepared a special concept of Sarathi Didi under which, in the coming time, there will be a separate window for ‘Sarathi Didi’ in the app, through which any woman who registers will be picked up only by ‘Sarathi Didis’. Shri Shah said ‘Sarathi Didis’ will arrive on two-wheelers and will safely take women to their destination at a very low fare. He said this facility will prove to be a very big and practical relief for women. In the coming days, through Sarathi Didi, the nation’s Matri Shakti will have access to an option of safe, affordable, and dignified travel. This is not merely a service, but an important step towards women’s safety, self-reliance, and dignity.

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