Bharat Taxi, a platform co-op designed as a driver-owned alternative to capital-extractive models like Uber, was launched this month in New Delhi by India’s Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.
The platform is run as a multi-state co-op, with drivers, known as Sarathis, joining as members, shareholders and co-owners. Shah said the co-op will share 80% of its profits among its drivers based on kilometres travelled, while the remaining 20% will be used to build co-operative capital.
Shah compared the venture to dairy co-op giant Amul, built into a 90,000 crore (US$11bn) venture since its foundation in 946 as a response to the exploitation of small dairy farmers by traders and agents.
Run by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited (STCL) under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, with the support of institutions including the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Amul and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the project began with pilot tests lest year in Delhi-NCR and Rajkot, which reportedly exposed difficulties with demand generation and fare competitiveness.
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