Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will today launch ‘Bharat Taxi’, the country’s first cooperation-based ride-hailing service, in Gujarat, marking a major step towards expanding the cooperative movement into the transport sector. The service will be formally launched at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar after its soft launch in the state in December 2025.
Bharat Taxi was first rolled out by Amit Shah in the Delhi-NCR region in February 2026 and is currently operational across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.
Built on the principle of ‘Saarthi Hi Maalik’ (the driver is the owner), Bharat Taxi is a driver-owned digital mobility platform that aims to provide economic empowerment, social security and ownership to taxi drivers through a cooperative model. The initiative is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ (prosperity through cooperation).
The platform has already gained significant traction in Gujarat, with more than 1.5 lakh Saarthis (drivers) and over 7 lakh customers joining the service. Across the country, Bharat Taxi has registered over 7 lakh Saarthis and 37 lakh customers, while more than 3,500 rides are being completed every day.
Initially, the service will operate in 14 major cities of Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Somnath, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar, with plans to expand across the state within the next month.
The launch event will be attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, senior state ministers, Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani, representatives of major cooperative institutions and over 4,000 Bharat Taxi Saarthis. During the programme, outstanding drivers will receive share certificates, reinforcing the cooperative ownership model, while several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will also be exchanged.
Bharat Taxi has been developed by Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited with the support of eight major cooperative institutions, including NCDC, Amul, NDDB, NAFED, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NABARD and NCEL. Registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, the platform follows a zero-commission model, allowing drivers to retain their earnings while also providing benefits such as insurance, loans, pension and access to government social security schemes.
For passengers, the platform offers bike, auto and cab services with surge-free pricing and safety features developed in collaboration with Gujarat Police. The government plans to expand Bharat Taxi to all states and major cities in the coming years, creating a nationwide cooperation-based mobility ecosystem integrated with India’s digital public infrastructure.
