CCPA fines Rapido ₹10 Lakh over misleading fare prompts and dark patterns

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract and dark patterns in the manner in which riders were prompted to pay more before their rides were confirmed. The action follows a sector-wide examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms undertaken by the CCPA to examine practices related to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. During its examination, the authority found that Rapido 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 rider’s booking was still being processed. According to the CCPA, Rapido first quoted a fare to the rider and, after the booking was made at that fare, prompted the rider to pay an additional amount on the ground that captains were not accepting the original price. The authority held that the practice created a false impression that a rider’s chances of getting a ride quickly depended on paying more. The CCPA said the practice amounted to “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023. The authority observed that such prompts created a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride when the consumer had already committed to the booking and had limited scope to negotiate. The CCPA also examined Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its design could influence consumers towards increasing their payment. According to the authority, 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 space for increasing the price than decreasing it. The CCPA held that the design amounted to “Interface Interference”, another recognised dark pattern, as the interface visually steered consumers towards paying a higher amount. The CCPA said the fare shown at the time of booking already takes into account factors such as distance, time, traffic, tolls and the amount payable to the captain. It therefore found no justification for subsequently suggesting an additional payment for the same ride before the journey had started. The authority 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 providing the service. The CCPA also referred to the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which require tipping features to be made available only after completion of the ride. Rapido had argued that tipping was voluntary and that its matching algorithm continued to operate irrespective of whether a rider paid an additional amount. The company had also described the prompts as reflecting real-time negotiation similar to an offline interaction between a rider and driver. The CCPA rejected these submissions, holding that the timing and design of the prompts placed pressure on riders when they were most dependent on the platform. The authority further noted that Rapido had not provided data demonstrating that paying an additional amount actually increased the likelihood of securing 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-tipping and dark-pattern practices across ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms. The authority 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 said it will continue to take measures under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to protect consumers as a class and prevent unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements. Consumers having complaints relating to misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices or dark patterns can register their grievances through the National Consumer Helpline at 1915.