New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract terms, and dark patterns in the way riders were prompted to pay more before their rides were confirmed.
The action followed a sector-wide examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms operating in India to examine practices related to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing, according to an official statement.
During its examination, the CCPA found that the Rapido app displayed prompts including “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren’t accepting at Rs 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30” while a rider’s booking was still being processed.
The CCPA said 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 grounds that Captains were not accepting the original price.
According to the authority, the practice created a false impression that a rider’s chances of getting a ride quickly depended on paying an additional amount, at a stage when the rider had already committed to the booking and had limited scope to negotiate.
The CCPA held that the practice amounted to “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 authority also examined Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its colour coding influenced riders’ pricing decisions.
According to the CCPA, raising the price displayed “higher chance of getting a ride” in green, while lowering the price triggered a red or orange warning. The slider also provided more room to increase the price than to decrease it.
The CCPA held that this amounted to a second dark pattern, “Interface Interference”, as the design of the interface visually steered consumers towards paying a higher amount, independent of the accompanying text.
The authority also said the fare displayed to a rider at the time of booking already takes into account factors including distance, time, traffic, tolls and the amount payable to the captain.
In this context, the CCPA found no justification for subsequently suggesting that the rider pay an additional amount for the same ride before the ride had commenced. It 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 require that any tipping feature 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 is voluntary, that its matching algorithm continues to operate irrespective of whether a rider pays an additional amount, and that the prompts merely reflected real-time negotiation similar to an offline conversation between a rider and a driver.
The CCPA rejected these submissions, holding that the timing and design of the prompts placed pressure on the rider at the point when the rider was most dependent on the platform.
The authority further noted that Rapido had not placed any data on record demonstrating that paying an additional amount actually increased the likelihood of a rider getting a ride. The claim was therefore held to be unsubstantiated and misleading.
The action against Rapido forms part of the CCPA’s wider scrutiny of advance-tip and dark-pattern practices across ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms.
The CCPA had earlier issued notices to platforms including Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, directing them to comply with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, and submit self-declarations regarding compliance.
The CCPA’s examination of Uber and Ola in this regard is currently ongoing.
