Bharat Taxi launched: How India’s govt-backed cab app plans to challenge Ola, Uber and Rapido

A new phase of ride-hailing has begun in India, with the launch of Bharat Taxi, a government-supported and cooperative-based platform intended to challenge incumbent private sector companies like Ola, Uber & Rapido.

It was formally launched by Union Minister of Home Affairs & Cooperation Amit Shah following a test run over the past two months (pilot) in select cities across the country.

According to officials, Bharat Taxi has the potential to revolutionize the Indian Mobility Sector because it is a driver-owned alternative to commission-based ride-hailing platforms.

What is Bharat Taxi?

Bharat Taxi is operated by Sahakar Taxi Coop Ltd., which is a multi-state cooperative registered under the ‘Multi State Co-op Society Act 2002’.

Bharat Taxi was incorporated in June 2025 and commenced pilot operations in December 2025 in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat. The app was launched on the morning of January 1 2026 at some locations including parts of Delhi.

The project is endorsed by national cooperatives such as the National Cooperative Development Corp., NABARD, and Amul.

Key Features of Bharat Taxi

The app’s launch includes solutions to long time complaints from drivers and passengers alike.
Key characteristics of Bharat Taxi include:

All rides have no commission charged.
Driver owned co-operative model.
High degree of transparency and predictability in pricing.
Drivers can become shareholders while using the co-operative.
Lower subscription fee.

Bharat Taxi allows drivers to begin buying co-operative shares for ₹500 or less, which provides them with the former’s right to receive dividends and the latter’s right to vote on company operations.

How Bharat Taxi assists drivers

While private aggregators may take 30-40% of each fare as a commission, Bharat Taxi allow drivers keep all of their earnings.

An increasing number of drivers feel they have increased control and dignity as a result of this model.

Some of the early users have indicated they experienced reduced bookings during the pilot program; however, officials expect demand to increase as people become aware of Bharat Taxi.

Scale of operations and expansion

Bharat Taxi has registered approximately 404,000 drivers and is completing more than 10,000 rides each day.

The service is currently operational at the airport, at the metro station and at the train station.

Prepaid taxi booths located in major areas will be converted to support Bharat taxi’s operations.

The Government hopes to grow Bharat Taxi’s reach nationally within two years and to be the largest ride hailing platform by 2029.

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Pricing and customer experience

While Bharat Taxi does not want to be viewed as the lowest price option in the marketplace, it does intend to be viewed as the fairest. As a result, there will be limited use of dynamic surge pricing.

Customers have expressed their frustration with long lines and exceeding fares at some specific locations due to staffing & software training trouble. The officials have classed this problem as being attributable to a service-in-progress, so these issues should be resolved within a relatively short time from now.

Bharat Taxi is facing significant obstacles to its success despite the solid support it has received:

Competitors already have established products
Quality and functionality of the mobile application need improvement
Rider demand needs to grow
Expectations for fare pricing need to be kept at a reasonable range
Ground staff need to be trained

Thus far, experts agree that continued marketing and service levels will be critical, and reliable technology will play a major role.

A Successful Bharat Taxi Program could change how we think about digital mobility in India. This program could create large-scale access to cooperative-based transportation for our citizens and develop new standards of fair pricing by reducing driver reliance on private-based platforms.

At its core, this is an example of how the government is making a conscious attempt to create a people-controlled transportation option within an industry dominated by corporate entities.

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