The government has started Bharat Taxi – a ride-hailing cooperative – which allows cab and auto drivers to become co-owners for a Rs 500 investment. Amit Shah, the Union Cooperation Minister, started the scheme and stated it’s meant to move a bigger part of the earnings from the platform to the drivers themselves, while also making sure there is at least a base rate per kilometer.
How the Bharat Taxi cooperative works
Bharat Taxi will be a cooperative, so drivers will be both owners in it and get benefits from any profits. The profits will be split with 80% going to the drivers, and the cooperative itself keeping 20% to pay for running things and to grow.
How much each driver gets will be based on how far they drove, linking pay to how busy and available they are. The cooperative will also keep money to help with keeping up the platform, customer care, and growing in the future; it won’t be a system that just takes commissions.
A Rs 500 investment makes you a co-owner
Shah said that drivers can become co-owners with a single Rs 500 payment. That small amount makes drivers part of the cooperative plan and lets them share in the profits once the platform starts to make money.
As an example, Shah said that if Bharat Taxi makes Rs 25 crore in profit after three years, Rs 5 crore (20%) would be kept, and Rs 20 crore (80%) would be given to the drivers. How much each driver gets would be based on how much they drove during that time.
Immediate income and the hope of future profits
To start, drivers will get a fixed rent or a guaranteed lowest amount of money per kilometer. The cooperative is stressing this minimum to keep drivers from getting the sudden drops in income that many have had with other platforms.
However, the share of the profits might take a while to happen. Shah asked drivers to have patience for the first three years while the cooperative grows and starts to make financial returns, when profit sharing will begin.
What this means for drivers, financially and in how they work
Making sure of a minimum rate per kilometer is meant to reduce how much income changes, and to give drivers clearer daily earnings. For a lot of drivers, this certainty could mean they don’t need to spend so many hours looking for fares to cover costs.
Rewarding drivers by kilometers driven can make incentives clear, but it might also make them use their vehicles more and work longer shifts. Having the cooperative run things properly, with clear accounting, and fair rules, will be key to stopping things going wrong and to protecting drivers.
What Bharat Taxi means for policy and the sector
Bharat Taxi shows a policy move to have worker-owned models in the gig economy. By design, the cooperative gives some of the platform’s income back to the workers, going against the usual commission model of aggregators.
If it works well, the scheme could be a model for other services where workers at the front line do the main work that creates value. Those who make the rules and those running the cooperative will need strong supervision to make sure distributions are fair and that there are clear ways to solve disputes.
Problems and next steps for a good start
A good start will depend on clear governance, technology that works well, and ways to sort out problems easily. The cooperative will need to show clear records of mileage, how fares are worked out, and how profits are shared, to build and keep driver trust.
Competition from already-established ride-hailing apps, and growing the operation, are real difficulties. The cooperative model will have to get enough drivers and riders to get to the levels of income that start meaningful profit sharing.
Bharat Taxi offers a new way for drivers to share in the profits from ride-hailing. With an entry cost of only Rs 500, drivers can get ownership, a guaranteed lowest rate, and a share of long-term gains if the platform grows as planned. The real test will be how clearly it is carried out, and how quickly the cooperative turns its promises into regular benefits for drivers.
