Lok Sabha Question No. 3944 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-17
Subject: Launching of Bharat Taxi
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Shri Brijmohan Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3944 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 MARCH 2026

## Launching of Bharat Taxi

## 3944. Shri Brijmohan Agrawal:

Will the Minister of COOPERATION ( सहकारिता मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

(a) the details of "Bharat Taxi";

(b)  the  manner  the  amalgamation  of  major  national  cooperatives  represent  a  shift  from  the traditional "driver-partner" model of private aggregators to a "Sarathi-owner" model;

(c) the manner this model ensure the prosperity of the "Sarathis" while maintaining the expansion and viability of the cooperative;

(d) the details of the "Sarathi Didi" feature of the Bharat Taxi including the manner this specific initiative address the dual challenges of women's employment in the transport sector and the safety concerns of solo female passengers;

(e)  the  details  of  the  key  cities  under  "Bharat  Taxi",  city-wise  data  and  the  plan  for  future expansions in cities like Raipur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur etc.;

(f) the number of App downloads that have been recorded till date for Bharat Taxi App & Bharat Taxi Driver on across all platforms; and

(g) whether the Government is planning to introduce the tip feature for the Sarathis, if so, the details thereof

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

(a), (b) & (c) The  Ministry  of  Cooperation  is  committed  to  empowering  cooperatives  as instruments  of  employment  generation,  social  security  and  grassroots  economic  participation. Bharat  Taxi  is  envisaged  as  a  transformative  intervention  in  the  mobility  sector  by  placing drivers -referred  to  as Sarathis -at  the  centre  of  ownership,  governance,  and  value  creation, thereby  offering  a  sustainable  and  dignified  alternative  to  aggregator-driven  models. ' Bharat Taxi'  is  India's  first  cooperative -led  ride-hailing  platform.  This  is  a  major  milestone  in  the

Government of India's ongoing efforts to strengthen the cooperative sector and promote inclusive, citizen-centric mobility solutions, in line with the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' .  Registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, Bharat Taxi was established on 6 June 2025 by 8 national level institutions working in field of cooperatives and officially launched on 5 th February,  2026.  Bharat  Taxi  is  a transition  from  the  conventional  'driver-partner'  model  to  a 'Sarathi-owner'  model  wherein  drivers  can  become  owner  of  the  cooperative  society,  have representation in Board of Management and participate in profit sharing. The Bharat Taxi platform operates  on  zero-commission  model,  with  direct  distribution  of  profits  to  drivers,  offering  a homegrown and indigenous alternative to investment-driven aggregator platforms. B harat Taxi has transparent fare structure, a user-friendly mobile ride-booking interface, real-time vehicle tracking, and support for multilingual interfaces, along with 24/7 customer support to enable sarathis to participate in cooperative ownership while ensuring sustainable growth of the platform.

(d) Bharat  Taxi  has  launched  women-focused  'Sarthi  Didi'  feature  to  encourage  women's employment as drivers and enhance safety for women passengers by facilitating women to hire women-driven taxi options besides incorporating safety features like SOS, live location tracking and dedicated 24*7 customer support.

(e) As of now the Bharat Taxi service is functional in Delhi NCR - Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Somnath & Dwarka of Gujarat.  Bharat Taxi targets to expand its service in a phased manner across  Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities offering services upto tehsil levels across the country over the next three years.

(f) As on 1 st March, 2026, Bharat Taxi has 21.34 lakh registered users and 2.31 lakh registered Sarathis

(g) Bharat  Taxi  is  exploring  several  passenger  engagement  features  for  driver  welfare including the possibility of a voluntary tipping option for Sarathis within the application.

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