NEW DELHI, March 27: In a major development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the upcoming launch of ‘Sahkar Taxi,’ a cooperative-based ride-hailing service aimed at benefiting drivers directly.
The announcement, made during his address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, positions ‘Sahkar Taxi’ as a potential alternative to popular app-based platforms like Ola and Uber. The initiative will enable cooperative societies to register two-wheelers, taxis, rickshaws, and four-wheelers, eliminating the need for intermediaries that often reduce drivers’ earnings.
The new service aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’ (Prosperity through Cooperation), and Shah emphasized that the Ministry of Cooperation had been working relentlessly over the past three and a half years to bring the initiative to fruition. Shah stated, “In a few months, a major cooperative taxi service will be launched, ensuring direct profit flow to the drivers.” This move is expected to address the concerns surrounding the income disparity faced by ride-hailing drivers on existing platforms.
The announcement of ‘Sahkar Taxi’ comes amid increasing scrutiny of ride-hailing giants like Ola and Uber over allegations of discriminatory pricing. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) recently issued notices to both companies after reports suggested that ride fares varied depending on whether the user booked a ride through an iPhone or an Android device. Ola denied the allegations, claiming a uniform pricing structure for all customers, while Uber also refuted the claims, stressing that they did not base their pricing on the phone’s operating system.
The controversy over pricing practices gained momentum in December 2024, when a social media post highlighted differing fares for the same Uber ride, depending on the user’s device. Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has since described the differential pricing as an “unfair trade practice” and announced an expanded investigation into pricing strategies across other sectors, including food delivery and online ticketing platforms, to safeguard consumers from potentially exploitative practices.
