To challenge the dominance of corporate ride-haling companies like Ola and Uber, the government has joined hands with Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited to develop Bharat Taxi - the country's first fixed national cooperative ride-hailing platform. The cooperative taxi service will be launched in December. Ahead of that, the platform is launching its pilot project in Delhi in November with 650 drivers. It will then expand to other states next month.
"The step aims to transform the mobility ecosystem with a cooperative-driven, transparent, and citizen-first ride-hailing platform," the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) said in a release.
Bharat Taxi has been jointly developed by the Union Government's Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). The central government has signed an MoU with Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited for this purpose. This will be a cooperative, not a private company. Therefore, even the drivers will be co-owners.
Sahakar Taxi will operate this service, and a council has been formed to govern it.
Amul MD Jayen Mehta elected as chairman
Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of AMUL (GCMMF), has been unanimously elected as the Chairman. At the same time, Rohit Gupta, Deputy Managing Director of NCDC, was chosen as the Vice Chairman of Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited.
The cooperative model of Bharat Taxi involves drivers as stakeholders, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility and ensuring that both drivers and passengers benefit from a transparent and fair system.
Services to be linked to DigiLocker, Umang and API Setu
Integration of the Bharat Taxi platform with national digital platforms such as DigiLocker, UMANG, and API Setu to enable seamless identity verification and service delivery.
How to use this service?
Using this service is as easy as using the Ola or Uber app. Android users will need to install the "Bharat Taxi" app from the Google Play Store, while iPhone users will need to install it from the Apple Store. It's reported that it will be available in Hindi, English, Gujarati and Marathi.
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