Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday interacted with drivers — referred to as 'Saarthis' — of the newly launched Bharat Taxi cooperative in New Delhi, positioning the platform as a driver-owned alternative to private cab aggregators that he said siphon profits away from the very people who power them.

At the heart of the Bharat Taxi model is a fundamental shift in how ride-hailing economics work. Shah emphasised that unlike conventional private taxi service companies, Bharat Taxi is structured as a cooperative — meaning profits flow back to the drivers themselves rather than to a corporate intermediary. "Bharat Taxi Cooperative is to empower the drivers by providing them the ownership of their work," Shah said in a video released on Sunday, directly addressing the structural grievances that have long plagued gig economy workers in India's cab industry.

Shah underlined that transparency would be a defining feature of the platform, promising that all information would be communicated to Saarthis via real-time notifications with nothing withheld. "Bharat Taxi will become the most transparent cab service in the world," he stated, setting a high benchmark for the cooperative's operational standards.

Among the initiative's standout features is the Sarathi Didi programme, which allows women passengers to specifically choose a woman driver for their ride — a safety-focused innovation designed to address a persistent concern in urban commuting for female passengers.

Beyond fare earnings, Bharat Taxi Saarthis will also be entitled to insurance benefits and access to easy loan facilities — extending the cooperative's value proposition well beyond the cab itself and addressing the financial vulnerability that characterises much of the gig workforce.