The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of INR 10 lakh on Roppen Transportation Services, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract terms and the use of dark patterns in its ride-booking interface.
The action follows a sector-wide examination by the CCPA of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms in India, particularly practices relating to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. During its examination, the regulator found that Rapido displayed prompts including “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren’t accepting at INR 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30” while a rider’s booking was still being processed.
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 an additional amount on the ground that captains were not accepting the original price.
The regulator held that the practice created a false impression that the rider’s chances of securing a ride quickly depended on paying more, particularly at a stage when the consumer had already committed to the booking and had limited scope to negotiate.
The CCPA classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023. The authority said the practice created a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride if the consumer did not agree to pay more.
The regulator separately examined Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its design influenced consumers’ pricing decisions.
According to the CCPA, increasing the price displayed a “higher chance of getting a ride” in green, while lowering the price triggered a red or orange warning. The regulator also noted that the slider provided more room for consumers to increase the price than decrease it.
The CCPA held that this amounted to “Interface Interference”, another dark pattern, as the design of the interface visually steered consumers towards paying a higher amount irrespective of the accompanying text.
Regulator questions use of “tip” before ride
The CCPA also rejected the treatment of the additional pre-ride payment as a genuine “tip”.
The authority noted that the fare displayed at booking already factors in elements including distance, time, traffic, tolls and the amount payable to the captain. Against this backdrop, it found no justification for subsequently suggesting that the rider make an additional payment for the same ride before the service had commenced.
The regulator observed that a tip is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after a service has been rendered and should not be presented as a condition for the service to be provided.
The CCPA also referred to the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which provide that a tipping feature should be made available only after completion of the ride and not at the time of booking or during the ride.
Rapido had argued that tipping was voluntary, that its matching algorithm continued to operate irrespective of whether a rider made an additional payment, and that the prompts reflected real-time negotiation comparable to an offline conversation between a rider and a driver.
The CCPA rejected these submissions. It also noted that Rapido had not placed data on record demonstrating that making an additional payment actually increased the likelihood of a rider getting a ride. The claim was therefore held to be unsubstantiated and misleading.
The Rapido order comes against the backdrop of a wider review by the consumer regulator of tipping and dark-pattern practices used by ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms.
The CCPA has previously issued notices to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, asking the platforms to comply with the 2023 dark-pattern guidelines and submit self-declarations on compliance. Its examination of Uber and Ola is still underway.
