The Indian government is now launching a new cooperative-based taxi service, which will be named “Sahkar Taxi.” This government-backed taxi service will offer alternate riding options like Ola and Uber.
This new announcement was made by Union Minister Amit Shah in Parliament on Wednesday, March 26. Shah outlined that this new Taxi will offer services like two-wheeler taxis, rickshaws, and four-wheeler taxis.
He furthermore mentioned that this Sahkar Taxi will provide profits directly to the drivers, unlike existing private company services.
The Union Cooperation Minister furthermore outlined, “In the coming months, on a cooperative basis, we are going to launch a government cooperative sarkar taxi service like Ola and Uber. The service will register two-wheeler taxis, rickshaws, as well as four-wheeler taxis. The profits from this service will not go to any big industrialist but will go solely to the drivers of the vehicle.”
This new Taxi service by the government will be a race against Uber, Ola, Rapido, and some other emerging applications.
According to Prabhjeet Singh, the president of Uber India and South Asia, recently, in a conversation with ET, the cab service platforms of India are not able to meet the rising demands due to the shortage of vehicles. He furthermore mentioned that the high asset ownership costs are a key challenge.
Currently, the taxi market in India has reached $23.40 billion, and it is projected that it will reach $44.18 billion in 2023, according to the stats revealed by Mordor Intelligence.
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee has launched a similar service in the state and has named it Yatri Sathi. Initially, the service was launched in Kolkata, but it has recently expanded to other cities, including Siliguri, Asansol, and Durgapur.
Yatri Sathi facilitates rapid dispatch, local language assistance, both Bengali and English, low fares, and 24/7 customer care, which makes it an easy and convenient mode of travel for commuters in the region.
In Karnataka, on the other hand, a privately owned taxi app named Namma Yathri also uses the same approach by making all the profits directly available to the drivers.
The app provides a range of services, including cabs, two-wheelers, four-wheelers, and pooling options, giving more control to drivers over their earnings while providing cheap and efficient transportation options to passengers.