The action was taken after the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Smt.
Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Shri Anupam Mishra, examined the practices followed by cab and bike-taxi aggregators in India, particularly those involving pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing, according to a press release.
During the review, the authority found that Rapido displayed prompts to riders while their bookings were still being processed. It also noted that the prompts appeared after the rider had already committed to the booking, leaving limited scope for negotiation. The authority also found that the slider allowed more space for increasing the price than for lowering it. The CCPA observed that a tip is generally a voluntary payment made after a service has been provided and should not be portrayed as a condition for receiving the service. Rapido had argued that tipping on its platform is voluntary and that its matching algorithm continues to work regardless of whether a rider offers an additional amount. The CCPA rejected these arguments, saying the timing and design of the prompts put pressure on riders when they were most dependent on the platform. The authority also noted that Rapido had not provided data showing that paying an additional amount actually improves a rider’s chances of getting a ride. The claim was consequently held to be unsubstantiated and misleading. The action against Rapido is part of a wider CCPA examination of advance-tip and dark-pattern practices among ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms.
Try adding +10, +20, +30”. The authority also cited the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which state that tipping features should be available only after completion of the ride, rather than during booking or the ride. It therefore found no justification for subsequently asking riders to pay an additional amount for the same journey before it had started.
These included messages such as “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren’t accepting at ₹ 60. Rapido first showed a fare to the rider and then, after the booking was made at that price, encouraged the rider to offer more money by stating that Captains were not accepting the original fare, according to the CCPA. The authority said this could give consumers the impression that paying an additional amount would improve their chances of getting a ride quickly. The CCPA classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern listed under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023. The authority said the design created urgency and made riders feel they could lose the ride if they did not agree to pay more. The CCPA also examined Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its colour scheme could influence the amount a rider chose to offer. Increasing the fare displayed a“higher chance of getting a ride” in green, while reducing the amount triggered a red or orange warning. The CCPA held that the design amounted to another dark pattern, “Interface Interference”, as the interface visually encouraged consumers to offer a higher amount regardless of the accompanying text. The authority said the fare shown during booking already accounts for factors such as distance, time, traffic, tolls and the amount payable to the captain. The company also said the prompts represented real-time negotiation similar to an offline conversation between a rider and a driver.
The CCPA’s examination of Uber and Ola on the issue is currently ongoing. The authority had earlier issued notices to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, asking them to comply with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 and submit self-declarations on compliance.
