Bharat Taxi service launched: Union minister Amit Shah says drivers can become co-owners by paying Rs 500

Union minister Amit Shah recently launched a new cooperative cab service called Bharat Taxi. Speaking at a town hall interaction with cab drivers and auto drivers from Delhi-NCR and Gujarat, Shah said that drivers on the platform can become co-owners by purchasing a share worth Rs 500, per report by news agency PTI.

Comparing the Bharat Taxi service to Amul Daily Cooperative, he said "36 lakh mothers and sisters invested just Rs 50 each and built Amul, which has a turnover of Rs 1,25,000 crore," he said. "In a private dairy, the profit goes to the owner. In Amul, 85 per cent goes back to the producer. Bharat Taxi is the same concept for mobility," he added.Stating that drivers on Bharat Taxi platform can become co-owners, he added that seats on Bharat Taxi's board of directors will be reserved for driver representatives as membership grows.

"When the board makes a policy against the drivers, your representative will stand up and ask -- how can you do this to our company?" Shah said as quoted by PTI.

Bharat Taxi will not let drivers earn below base rate: Amit Shah

During the interaction, Amit Shah assured Bharat Taxi drivers that the platform will guarantee a minimum base rate per kilometre for all drivers. Without naming any company, Shah asserted that existing ride-hailing aggregators had deliberately avoided setting such a floor to maximise corporate profits at the expense of workers.

He said that the Bharat Taxi platform will return 80 per cent of profits to drivers based on kilometres driven, with the remaining 20 per cent retained as cooperative capital."I asked all three companies whether they had set a minimum base rate for their drivers. They said no," Shah told the gathering. "We will not do this. Whatever business you do, your minimum should be fixed. And whatever is more than that has to come back to you," the PTI report says.Shah further said that 15 crore drivers will be enrolled under the service within two years and expand to every city with a municipal corporation within three years. The platform is currently operational in Delhi-NCR and Rajkot.