The Centre has directed cab and ride-hailing aggregators to stop offering passengers the option to tip drivers before a ride is booked or completed, Consumer Affairs Secretary and Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare said on September 16.
The move follows complaints received through the National Consumer Helpline alleging that passengers were encouraged to pay an advance tip and were led to believe it could improve their chances of getting a ride.
The government has described the practice as “misleading” and an “unfair trade practice”, while clarifying that tipping itself has not been banned. Under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, a voluntary tipping option can be offered only after a journey is completed.
The development comes a day after the CCPA imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on Rapido operator Roppen Transportation Services for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract terms and dark patterns linked to prompts encouraging riders to pay more before their rides were confirmed. Meanwhile, investigations into the practices of Uber and Ola are still underway.
Why Advance Tips Faced Scrutiny
The government’s concern centres on the timing and presentation of tipping rather than the act of tipping itself. Khare said consumers had complained that an “advance tip” was being introduced even before they took a ride, with some believing that they might not get a ride unless they paid extra.
“We found this to be misleading and also an unfair trade practice,” Khare said, adding that after a detailed investigation and hearing, authorities ordered the discontinuation of such built-in mechanisms. She stressed that tipping remains voluntary and should be left to the consumer’s discretion after completing a ride.
The distinction matters because a tip is ordinarily an additional payment made after a service has been provided, whereas presenting it during the booking process can make it appear connected to securing the service itself.
The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, specifically state that an app may provide a voluntary tipping facility only after completion of the journey. The option cannot be made available at booking, before the journey begins or during the journey, and the entire tip must be credited to the driver without deduction by the aggregator.
Rapido Penalty Adds Context
The latest direction follows a wider regulatory examination of how ride-hailing platforms use pricing prompts and digital interfaces. On September 15, the CCPA imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services, which operates Rapido, after examining its ride-booking interface.
According to the regulator, the app displayed prompts including “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren’t accepting at ₹60. Try adding +10, +20, +30” while a booking was still being processed.
The CCPA said Rapido initially quoted a fare and then prompted riders to pay more on the grounds that drivers were not accepting the original amount. It classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern under the 2023 guidelines, and also identified “Interface Interference”.
The authority said such design could create an impression that paying more would improve a rider’s chances of securing a ride quickly. The CCPA has also directed Rapido to discontinue misleading prompts and practices that steer consumers towards paying more.
Separately, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had already issued a directive on August 11 asking aggregators to remove pre-ride tipping prompts. It said interfaces must not imply that an additional payment could improve ride confirmation, driver acceptance, driver allocation, waiting time or quality of service.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The government’s move places an important question at the centre of digital consumer rights: when does an optional payment stop feeling optional? Passengers should be able to decide whether to reward a driver based on the service they have actually received, while drivers also deserve fair and transparent ways to earn additional income.
At the same time, ride-hailing companies need to ensure that their apps communicate fares, availability and additional payments clearly, without creating unnecessary pressure at a moment when a passenger is simply trying to secure a ride.
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