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

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday formally launched Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-based taxi service, in New Delhi, marking a new initiative aimed at providing ownership rights and welfare benefits to drivers working in the unorganised sector. Addressing the launch event, Shah said that  Bharat Taxi is not a government-run service but a cooperative initiative, stressing the distinction between Sahakar (cooperation) and Sarkar (government). He said that for the first time, taxi drivers themselves are the true owners of the platform, with every Sarathi becoming a shareholder in the cooperative. He said the highest share capital in the cooperative has been capped at Rs 500, which gives drivers real ownership rights. Elected representatives of Sarathis will sit on the Board and take decisions on their behalf, which he said reflects the core principle of cooperative institutions.
The Union Minister said that unlike private taxi platforms, Bharat Taxi will not deduct even one percent commission from drivers’ earnings. Customer payments will be transferred directly and immediately into the Sarathi’s bank account. He said the objective of the platform is not to build company capital but to increase the income of its real owners—the drivers.Shah said the service integrates four-wheelers, three-wheelers and two-wheelers and places special emphasis on women’s safety. He announced the Sarathi Didi feature, under which women passengers can opt to be picked up exclusively by women drivers. He said this initiative would provide women with a safe, affordable and dignified travel option and contribute to women’s safety and self-reliance.
He said that within three years, Bharat Taxi would expand nationwide, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Kamakhya, and emerge as a major platform for the welfare of taxi drivers, referred to as Sarathis. Highlighting the scale of adoption, Shah said that within eight months of its establishment in June 2025, Bharat Taxi has attracted more drivers and customers in Delhi and Gujarat than any other taxi company. In Delhi-NCR alone, over 2.5 lakh drivers have joined the platform, while more than 8.5 lakh passengers have registered.
He said the cooperative model would be expanded to more sectors in the future, ensuring that the benefits of labour remain with the workers themselves. The four guiding principles of Bharat Taxi, he said, are ownership, security cover, dignity and “Everyone’s Wheel, Everyone’s Progress.”  The launch was marked by a rally of 100 cars from Indira Gandhi International Airport to Vigyan Bhawan, with participation from more than 1,200 Sarathis from different states. During the event, top-performing drivers were felicitated and provided accident and health insurance coverage.