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UT to formally launch Bharat Taxi app today in Chandigarh
UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will be the chief guest at the event while Union ministers of state (MoS) for cooperation and civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol and MoS for cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar will also be present
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After suspending the licences of private cab aggregators – Ola, InDrive, Uber and Rapido – over non-compliance of norms, the UT administration is set to formally launch the government-backed Bharat Taxi service as an alternative for cab users.
According to a rough estimate, Chandigarh has nearly 1 lakh daily cab users who use ride-hailing services to get to work, college, airport, railway station and other regular travel.
UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will be the chief guest at the event while Union ministers of state (MoS) for cooperation and civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol and MoS for cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar will also be present. After the digital inauguration, a ceremonial flag-off of the Bharat Taxi vehicles will take place.
Since the suspension of the aggregator licences of the private firms, the state transport authority (STA) has issued 390 challans and impounded 25 vehicles for continuing to operate through the banned apps. Around ₹39 lakh has also been collected in fines so far.
The allegations against the private cab hailing companies are that they aren’t complying with the Chandigarh Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025, which lays down guidelines for fares, driver onboarding, verification, insurance etc.
While commercial cab and bike-taxi drivers have already started using Bharat Taxi, its uptake among commuters has remained limited as it is relatively new and not many know of it. With the formal launch, the UT is aiming to increase its visibility.
