Uber, Ola and other cab aggregators directed to cease advance tipping option; govt calls it ‘misleading, unfair’

The central government has directed cab aggregators such as Uber, Ola to discontinue the option of tipping drivers before a ride is booked, according to Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Wednesday, describing the practice as “misleading” and “unfair” to consumers.

Khare's remarks came a day after the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed a ₹10 lakh fine on ride-hailing platform Rapido over several alleged unfair business practices, including allowing customers to tip drivers in advance.

The CCPA is also looking into the business practices of Uber and Ola. Responding to questions about cab aggregators, Khare, who also heads the CCPA, said on Wednesday that the National Consumer Helpline had received numerous complaints against such platforms.

Quick answers to key questions

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QUESTIONS

The government found that advance tipping options were misleading and unfair to consumers, leading many to believe a tip was necessary to secure a ride.

Dark patterns are deceptive interface features designed to mislead users, such as prompts suggesting that paying more increases the chance of getting a ride.

Advance tips can create a false impression that consumers must pay extra to secure a ride, thus constituting unfair trade practices.

Riders should be cautious, as additional payment prompts may be designed to mislead them; they should confirm if the extra amount is truly necessary.

Rapido was fined ₹10 lakh by the CCPA for unfair trade practices, including misleading prompts for advance tips and deceptive pricing strategies.

“(Consumers were) basically alleging that actually even before taking the ride, there was a concept of introducing an advance tip,” she said, adding that some consumers were being led to believe that they would not receive a ride unless they paid the tip.

“Now this we found to be misleading and also an unfair trade practice. And after detailed investigation into the matter and also after hearing, we have ordered discontinuation of this kind of you know built-in mechanism,” PTI quoted Khare as saying.

She stressed that tipping is entirely voluntary and should remain a consumer’s choice after completing the ride.

Regarding the cases involving Uber and Ola, Khare said the investigations are still underway.

The action against Rapido follows a broader review of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms operating across India, with regulators examining practices such as pre-ride tipping and dynamic fare pricing.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had earlier issued notices to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, asking the platforms to adhere to the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

Dark patterns refer to deceptive interface features designed to mislead users or influence them into making choices they may not otherwise have made.

What CCPA said about the Rapido case

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the CCPA said it had imposed a "penalty of ₹10 lakh on Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract and dark patterns in the manner in which riders were prompted to pay more before their rides were confirmed".

During its assessment of the platforms, the authority found that the "Rapido app displayed prompts such as 'Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride' and 'Captains aren't accepting at ₹60. Try adding 10, 20, 30' while a rider's booking was still being processed".

The regulator also flagged the way Rapido's algorithm handled fares. According to the CCPA, "Rapido's algorithm first quoted a fare to the rider and, after the rider booked at that fare, prompted the rider to pay more on the ground that drivers were not accepting the original price".

The authority said the practice could give riders the impression that paying an additional amount would improve their chances of securing a ride quickly. It also noted that riders had limited room to negotiate after already proceeding with the booking.

"The practice was held to constitute 'Confirm Shaming', a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, as it creates a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride if the consumer does not agree to pay more," the authority said.

The CCPA observed the fare shown during booking is calculated after considering factors such as the distance, travel time, traffic conditions, toll charges and the driver’s payment.

The regulator therefore found no basis for asking riders to increase the fare for the same journey after booking it but before the trip had started.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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