Gandhinagar, June 27 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched ‘Bharat Taxi’ in Gujarat, marking the cooperative ride-hailing platform’s entry into the state and outlining plans to expand the service to 125 cities and 30 major urban centres across India by March 2027.

The launch was held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, senior state ministers, cooperative leaders and thousands of drivers, referred to by the platform as “Sarathis”.

Bharat Taxi Chairman and GCMMF Managing Director Dr Jayen Mehta described the launch as a milestone for the cooperative sector and said the initiative was based on the principle that drivers should also be owners.

“Today’s programme comes just before the completion of five years of the Ministry of Cooperation. It is our privilege that Amit Shah has joined us today to guide us on this important occasion,” Mehta said.

Recalling the origins of the cooperative movement, he said Amul had started with just two village milk cooperatives and 250 litres of milk before becoming the world’s largest cooperative organisation with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore.

“The concept of Sahkar Taxi is a new vision for the cooperative sector. Amit Shah’s vision is that when people work together as members of a cooperative institution, extraordinary and unimaginable results can be achieved,” he said.

Mehta said the platform had grown rapidly since its launch on February 5 this year. “In less than five months, nearly seven lakh Sarathis have joined us, while 38 to 40 lakh customers have registered on our app. At present, we are active in only two to three states,” he said.

He added that Gujarat had already enrolled more than 1.5 lakh drivers and over 7 lakh customers before the formal state launch.

Looking ahead, Mehta said Bharat Taxi would expand across the country over the next year. “Within one year, Bharat Taxi will reach the capitals of 30 major states, the country’s principal urban centres and more than 125 cities,” he said, adding that the platform aimed to ensure that “every rupee spent by a customer should go directly into the bank account of our Sarathi brothers”.

During the event, Bharat Taxi also exchanged a series of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with public sector and institutional partners to strengthen its operations across Gujarat.

The agreements were signed with Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation, Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, Adani Airport Holdings Limited, the Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Division, the Airports Authority of India for Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara airports, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Gujarat State Traffic Branch of the police.

Organisers said the partnerships would help integrate taxi services with Metro stations, railway facilities, airports and urban transport infrastructure while improving access and operational support for drivers.

According to Bharat Taxi, the platform operates on a cooperative ownership model under which drivers are stakeholders rather than commission-paying partners.

It also offers a WhatsApp-based airport booking service, has established Sarathi Assistance Centres, distributes membership certificates and welfare kits to drivers, and has tied up with the State Bank of India to facilitate vehicle loans at concessional interest rates.

The organisation has also entered into agreements with electric vehicle manufacturers to support cleaner transport.

The statewide rollout will initially cover Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Anand, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Mehsana, Jamnagar and Valsad, with further expansion planned across the state.

“Trust for passengers, respect for Sarathis and new opportunities for society.. this is the identity of Bharat Taxi. It is not just an application, but a unique platform that connects people with new dreams. Bharat Taxi is not merely a project; it is a movement that is giving new momentum to the cooperative sector,” Mehta asserted.

–IANS

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