The Central Government of India is launching “Bharat Taxi,” India’s first cooperative car service application.
The initiative, developed under the supervision of the Union Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), will give drivers full ownership of their earnings while offering commuters a government-supervised alternative to private cab providers like Ola and Uber.
Bharat Taxi comes after increasing complaints of both riders and drivers about their dissatisfaction with the service provided by many of the third-party applications. While riders often found themselves lamenting the conditions of their cabs and surge pricing, drivers have long wanted lower commission rates, which can even go up to 25%.
Through the Bharat Taxi app, the government will not charge any commissions to the drivers. Instead, the app will offer a membership model with a nominal daily, weekly, or monthly fee. This, as per the government, is meant to help drivers earn more.
The pilot test for the Bharat Taxi app will begin in November 2025 in Delhi, enlisting 650 vehicles and their owner-drivers. In case of a successful run, the app will be released on a full scale in December, expanding services to other major cities.
As per the officials, the initial phase of the application’s rollout across different cities will include 5,000 drivers, including men and women. Over the following years, the application will slowly expand to 20 major Indian cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Lucknow, and Jaipur.
Currently, the government aims to establish the Bharat Taxi app services across various metro regions by March 2026. By 2030, the goal is to have 1 lakh drivers on board the app and reach district headquarters as well as rural areas.
Bharat Taxi will work as a cooperative enterprise and not a privately owned corporation. It will be operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited with oversight from a newly constituted governing council. The council will be chaired by Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, the parent company of Amul. The position of Vice Chairman will be filled by Rohit Gupta, Deputy Managing Director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
