Navi Mumbai, July 23 (IANS) In a major step towards transforming the country’s mobility sector through cooperation, innovation and inclusive development, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol on Thursday launched the ‘Bharat Taxi’ service in Maharashtra at a programme held at Navi Mumbai International Airport.
Bharat Taxi is advancing an equitable cooperative mobility model that does not regard taxi Sarathis merely as drivers, but recognises them as owners of the service, members of the cooperative institution and partners in its progress.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Fadnavis said that after Delhi and Gujarat, the launch of Bharat Taxi in Maharashtra will further advance the new model of employment through cooperation and prosperity through employment. From village‑level primary cooperative societies to various cooperative organisations, efforts are being made to strengthen, modernise and bring greater transparency to these institutions, while also developing new business models for them. Bharat Taxi is an important component of this transformative approach.
He said that app‑based taxi services have made transportation more convenient for passengers, but challenges such as surge pricing, hidden charges and aggregator commissions have often caused difficulties for both passengers and drivers. Bharat Taxi offers a cooperative solution to these issues. Under this model, taxi Sarathis will not merely be drivers but will also be owners and shareholders of the cooperative institution and will receive a share in the profits it earns. The service will have no surge pricing or hidden charges and will operate on the basis of a fixed service fee.
Fadnavis said Bharat Taxi will provide citizens with safe, reliable and high‑quality transportation services. The safety of women passengers, courteous treatment of passengers, transparent fares and an accountable service delivery system will be accorded priority.
Referring to the agreement with the late D B Patil Cooperative Transport Association as significant, he said that efforts would be made to provide taxis through credit facilities to nearly 3,000 to 4,000 local sons of the soil residing around Navi Mumbai International Airport and connect them with the Bharat Taxi platform. This will create new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for local youth.
MoS Mohol said that the launch of Bharat Taxi in Maharashtra marks the beginning of a new chapter in the State’s cooperative sector. He said that Maharashtra is the sacred land of cooperation and has a rich cooperative tradition spanning more than 100 years. Of the more than 8.60 lakh cooperative societies functioning across the country, nearly 2.5 lakh are operating in Maharashtra alone, reflecting the State’s significant contribution to India’s cooperative movement.
During the programme, share certificates and service kits were also distributed to Sarathis associated with Bharat Taxi. Bharat Taxi aims to replace an intermediary‑centric system with a Sarathi‑centric transportation framework, bring stability to their incomes, provide passengers with safe services at transparent fares and share the institution’s profits with its Sarathis.
In the coming period, the Bharat Taxi service will be expanded across Maharashtra in a phased manner by connecting more taxi drivers, youth, women and local communities with the platform, in collaboration with the State’s cooperative institutions, transport organisations and local bodies, said the government release.
–IANS
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