Platform Taxi Cooperatives Gain Ground as Fairer Alternative to Ride-Hailing Giants
In India, a large-scale, government-backed driver-owned cooperative was unveiled during the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives 2025
BRUSSELS, April 17, 2026 — As global ride-hailing platforms continue to dominate urban transport, emerging taxi cooperatives in Belgium and India are demonstrating that worker-owned digital alternatives can compete — and potentially reshape the industry.
Founded in 2009, Uber now boasts around 10 million active drivers and couriers worldwide. Yet cooperative models are gaining renewed attention, with recent initiatives in Belgium and India highlighting a viable, scalable alternative.
In Belgium, Uride launched earlier this year, opening membership to both drivers and passengers. A share costs €100, with driver-members paying platform fees of 10 per cent — compared with 15 per cent for non-members and between 25 and 35 per cent on traditional platforms. Customer-members, meanwhile, benefit from a 10 per cent discount on journeys.
In India, a large-scale, government-backed driver-owned cooperative was unveiled during the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives 2025. The Bharat Taxi brand was officially launched this year in New Delhi by Amit Shah. It is operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
Shah said the cooperative will distribute 80 per cent of its profits among drivers — known as Sarathis — based on kilometres travelled, with the remaining 20 per cent reinvested to build cooperative capital. The platform operates a zero-commission model, with drivers paying a flat daily access fee rather than a percentage of each fare.
Drivers can also purchase shares in the cooperative, with a minimum investment of Rs 500, granting voting rights and eligibility for future dividends.
Shah emphasised that “the government is not entering the taxi sector — this is a cooperative initiative” designed to improve driver welfare. The long-term aim is to provide a stable alternative to gig work, including access to health insurance, accident cover and retirement savings, while offering a model that could be replicated globally with government support.
The initiative has been backed by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), which has acted as an anchor institution. It brought together eight promoter cooperatives and statutory organisations to structure the initiative and finalise governance arrangements, and continues to provide operational support, technical evaluations and office infrastructure.
“Bharat Taxi operates in a highly competitive and capital-intensive digital aggregation ecosystem, characterised by high commission margins and limited driver involvement in decision-making,” said Rohit Gupta, Deputy Managing Director at NCDC.
To address challenges around financing, scaling and trust, the cooperative has established strategic partnerships with railways, state governments, municipal authorities and other cooperative institutions. It has also lowered entry barriers to boost participation while carefully managing expenditure through a phased expansion strategy.
“The early response to Bharat Taxi has been highly positive,” Gupta said, noting that the platform has already attracted more than 400,000 drivers and recorded over two million app downloads.
He added that the strong uptake reflects growing demand among drivers for ownership, fairer earnings and a voice in governance, while customers are increasingly drawn to transparent, affordable and reliable services.
“This signals a shift away from traditional models marked by high commissions, surge pricing and limited worker inclusion,” Gupta said.
He argued that the Bharat Taxi initiative illustrates how cooperatives can succeed beyond traditional sectors by tackling structural inefficiencies and embedding worker participation in decision-making.
“Globally, this approach offers an alternative to dominant venture capital-backed platforms by integrating democratic governance and shared prosperity into digital infrastructure,” he said, pointing to opportunities in emerging service sectors such as household maintenance, skilled trades, beauty and wellness, appliance repair and local services.
In many of these industries, he noted, markets remain fragmented and informal, often characterised by worker exploitation and inconsistencies in pricing and service quality.
By contrast, the cooperative model can deliver higher earnings for workers, transparent pricing for consumers and employment at scale.
“The success of Bharat Taxi demonstrates that technology-enabled cooperatives can emerge as a parallel institutional framework in India’s digital economy,” Gupta added, “extending well beyond mobility into a broad range of services.”
https://thecooperator.news/emyooga-gulu-drivers-acquire-taxi-to-boost-incomes/
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