Amit Shah to launch India’s first cooperative ride-hailing app Bharat Taxi in Delhi today

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will launch ‘Bharat Taxi’ today at 3 PM at Vigyan Bhavan. The service is a government-backed cab aggregation platform based on a cooperative ownership model and is not directly operated by the Union government.Bharat Taxi, run by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, is registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and was established on June 6, 2025. The platform follows a zero-commission and surge-free pricing system with profits distributed directly to drivers.

Drivers on the platform, called “Sarathis,” are shareholders in the cooperative. Instead of per-ride commissions, drivers pay a flat daily fee to use the app. The model is designed to increase driver earnings and reduce passenger fares.
During today’s event, the top six Sarathis will be honoured. Amit Shah will distribute share certificates to them under the “Sarathi Hi Malik” principle.Each will receive personal accident insurance of ₹5 lakh and family health insurance of ₹5 lakh. Nine MoUs will be signed with public and private stakeholders. More than 1,200 Sarathis are expected to attend.

The ministry has described Bharat Taxi as the world’s first and largest cooperative-based ride-hailing platform and the largest driver-owned mobility platform. The service plans to expand to all states and cities within two years and set up dedicated support centres in every state.

Fares are estimated to be up to 30% lower than those of private aggregators. Savings from the zero-commission structure are expected to be passed on to passengers. This may increase price competition in city cab markets where Ola, Uber, and Rapido operate.

An official statement said the service began pilot operations on December 2, 2025, in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat. It added that over 3 lakh drivers and more than 1 lakh users have registered so far, with more than 10,000 rides being completed daily in the pilot regions.

The statement said around ₹10 crore has been distributed directly to drivers to date. Drivers are allowed to operate on other platforms and are not bound by exclusivity clauses. Support centres are functioning at seven locations in Delhi.

The platform includes safety features such as verified driver records, emergency assistance, and a dedicated helpline. Bharat Taxi offers social security measures for drivers. These include health insurance, accident insurance, retirement savings support, and a structured assistance system.

A women-focused service called “Bike Didi” has onboarded more than 150 women drivers. The cooperative is backed by major institutions in the sector. These include IFFCO, Amul, NCDC, NABARD, NDDB, KRIBHCO, NAFED, and NCEL.