Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday, 27 June said that Bharat Taxi — launched in Gandhinagar in the presence of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah — marks a structural shift in the ride-hailing sector by converting drivers from wage earners into profit-sharing stakeholders. The cooperative platform, he said, directly addresses what he described as a long-standing imbalance in how taxi companies distribute earnings.

What Bharat Taxi Changes for Drivers

Chief Minister Patel drew a sharp contrast between the conventional taxi model and the cooperative structure underpinning Bharat Taxi. “For years, taxi drivers continued to provide services, but they had no share in the profits of the companies, and had to sustain themselves on a fixed income through fixed salaries,” he said.

Under the new model, drivers will be designated Sarathis — a term Patel described as intended to become “a symbol of self-reliance, dignity and self-respect.” The platform was established by eight major cooperative institutions and is claimed to be “the world’s largest cooperative structure owned by drivers.”

Scale and Reach Since Launch

Since its national launch earlier in 2025, Bharat Taxi has reportedly enrolled seven lakh members, with more than 37 lakh customers having used the service. Patel described the model as one “in which the centre of development is not merely capital, but human beings.”

The cooperative sector, he noted, has traditionally been confined to agriculture, dairy, animal husbandry, and banking. Bharat Taxi represents its first significant foray into urban mobility.

Sarathi Didi: Opportunity for Women Drivers

Patel also announced the Sarathi Didi initiative, which is designed to create employment opportunities specifically for women drivers while simultaneously improving the safety of women passengers. No further operational details were disclosed at the event.

Political and Cooperative Context

Patel attributed the platform’s ideological foundation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, framing it as an extension of the cooperative movement into non-traditional sectors. Recalling Shah’s remarks at the national launch in February, Patel said: “He had very aptly said that cooperation means giving those who labour a share in the profits as well.”

Patel expressed confidence that Gujarat’s deep-rooted cooperative tradition — spanning dairy giants and banking federations — would give Bharat Taxi a competitive advantage in the state. “Cooperation is the very nature of Gujarat, and I am confident that Bharat Taxi will become the most successful in Gujarat, and the Sarathis here will earn the highest incomes in the country,” he said.

What Comes Next

The Gujarat launch positions Bharat Taxi for further state-level expansion, building on the national rollout earlier this year. The platform has pledged transparent fare standards for passengers alongside income protections for Sarathis. Whether the cooperative model can scale to challenge established ride-hailing platforms will depend on driver enrolment momentum and regulatory support in the months ahead.