The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined Rapido’s parent company ₹10 lakh for unfair trade practices, unfair contract terms and dark patterns in its ride-booking interface, directing the platform to discontinue prompts that steer consumers towards paying more before a ride begins.
Rapido is operated by Roppen Transportation Services Private Ltd. The action follows a sector-wide examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms focused on pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. The CCPA said its examination of Uber and Ola on the same issues is still ongoing.
According to the authority, Rapido displayed prompts during the booking process including “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains are not accepting at ₹60. Try adding +10, +20, +30”. The CCPA said these messages created a false impression that a rider’s chances of securing a ride quickly depended on paying an additional amount, at a stage when the consumer had already initiated the booking and had limited scope to negotiate.
The authority classified the prompts as “Confirm Shaming”, saying they created urgency and fear that the ride could be lost if the rider did not agree to pay more. It also objected to Rapido’s colour-coded “Set your price” slider. Raising the fare turned the interface green, while lowering it triggered a red or orange warning. The CCPA said the slider allowed more room for increasing than decreasing the price, visually directing riders towards a higher payment.
The authority classified that design as “Interface Interference”, a dark pattern in which the visual arrangement of an interface influences a consumer’s decision independently of the accompanying text. It said the fare shown at the time of booking already accounted for factors including distance, time, traffic and tolls, and found no justification for subsequently asking a rider to pay an additional amount before the service had started.
“CCPA 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 authority said. It also referred to the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which require tipping features to be made available only after completion of a ride and not at the time of booking or during the journey.
Rapido argued that tipping was voluntary, that its matching algorithm continued to operate regardless of whether a rider paid an additional amount, and that the prompts represented real-time negotiation similar to an offline conversation between a rider and a driver. The CCPA rejected those submissions, holding that the timing and design of the prompts placed pressure on riders.
The authority also said Rapido had not provided data demonstrating that an additional payment actually improved the likelihood of securing a ride. It therefore held the claim that paying more increased the chance of getting a ride to be unsubstantiated and misleading. The ongoing examination of Uber and Ola will determine whether similar booking and pricing practices are found elsewhere in the ride-hailing sector.
