Overview
- The Maharashtra government directed the Transport Department to draft regulations to allow app-based cooperative taxi aggregators following a Mantralaya review of Sahakar Taxi Co-operative Limited on Tuesday, June 2.
- State leaders and Bharat Taxi representatives said the service will launch first in Mumbai with planned expansion to Pune and Nagpur, though exact launch dates and operational rules remain to be finalised.
- Officials outlined driver welfare measures that include family, health and accident insurance, access to Ayushman Bharat benefits, and concessional loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
- The state-run MSRTC is also developing its own mobility app called 'Chhava', creating a parallel public option to private taxi platforms and the proposed cooperatives.
- The move is framed as a response to the dominance of private aggregators and the income insecurity drivers face, and it could shift drivers from being gig workers to member-owners while raising questions about governance, financing and competition with incumbents.