Govt-Backed 'Bharat Taxi' Set For January Rollout; To Compete With Ola, Uber, Rapido

Government-backed ride-hailing app 'Bharat Taxi' will be launched in January 2026 to take on private aggregators like Ola, Uber and Rapido.

The platform will be operated by the Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Ltd., a multi-state cooperative society, designed to empower drivers and provide affordable, reliable transportation to the public, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

"Rooted in the principles of cooperation, transparency and shared ownership, Sahakar Taxi stands as a people-centric alternative to traditional ride-hailing platforms. After completion of the requisite formalities, Bharat Taxi will be launched in January 2026," he said.

As of November, Bharat Taxi has witnessed strong early traction of more than 37,000 driver registrations, the minister said.

The soft launch of Bharat Taxi was done on Nov. 10 at the Delhi International Airport via the Delhi Traffic Police's prepaid taxi booths. The Driver App was launched in Delhi on Nov. 13 and subsequently in Gujarat on Nov. 26 at Rajkot.

Salient features of the Bharat Taxi app include user-friendly mobile ride booking, transparent fare, vehicle tracking, support for multi-lingual interfaces and 24/7 customer services to enhance accessibility, secure and verified onboarding, inclusive mobility, tech-enabled support and safety measures to the citizens.

With the zero commission model, drivers will get full earnings from each ride. Profit of the cooperative society will be distributed directly to drivers. A transparent pricing model will be beneficial to both drivers and passengers, according to the government.

The Sahakar Taxi Cooperative is promoted by the National Cooperative Development Corp., Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd., National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd., Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd., National Dairy Development Board and National Cooperative Exports Ltd.