Government-sponsored Bharat Taxi teases a major statewide debut, adding 45,000 users per day.

In India, a new taxi-hailing app backed by the government is slowly gaining traction. Just a few days after launching, Bharat Taxi, which is supported by the Ministry of Cooperation, has experienced a dramatic increase in customer interest, with tens of thousands of new registrations coming in every day. The platform is currently accessible on both iOS and Android, and based on our observations, it is already becoming noticeable among well-known ride-hailing applications. The official X handle of the Indian government’s Ministry of Cooperation brought attention to the momentum. According to the ministry’s post, Bharat Taxi has more than four lakh registered users to far, and during the last two days, it has added between 40,000 and 45,000 users every day.

Currently, the driver-focused app is at number 20 on the Play Store, while it is placed ninth on the Google Play Store and thirteenth on Apple’s App Store. The ministry positioned Bharat Taxi as part of the bigger “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” strategy under Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, characterizing this phase as a prelude to a wider statewide implementation. Amit Shah officially unveiled Bharat Taxi today as a new cooperative-based, government-backed substitute in the saturated taxi aggregation market. With a strong emphasis on driver empowerment, the app promises to provide police-verified drivers and an open approach to mobility. The interface is clear and simple to use from the standpoint of the user.

Additionally, there is a noticeable effort regarding safety. Emergency options including contacting the police, notifying saved contacts, contacting a safety team, and activating a siren from within the app are displayed in the app banners. Users of services like Uber, which already enable riders to share real-time trip details with friends, are familiar with some of these concepts. It won’t be evident until Bharat Taxi’s safety features are used more frequently. Early hands-on use does, however, provide some challenges. For example, pricing is not always as competitive as one might anticipate from a service supported by the government.

Inconsistencies, such as the same price being displayed for both AC and non-AC taxis, and the appearance of slightly higher prices in certain instances raised the possibility of software bugs. The entire experience still feels more like a work in progress than a polished finished product, even though the login process is surprisingly straightforward and only requires a mobile number, name, and email address. For me, setting up the app and making a profile took less than a minute.

The way Bharat Taxi handles drivers holds the greatest promise. Drivers will receive the full fare paid by passengers immediately because the platform promises not to charge them a commission up front. However, a report suggested that it would subsequently impose a tax of up to 20%, but it asserts that even this would be reimbursed to drivers in some way. For the time being, execution will determine its success: how well supply and demand are balanced, how consistently prices remain competitive, and whether the app fulfills its promises of dependability and safety as it grows.