The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has directed bike taxi aggregators such as Uber, Ola and Rapido to immediately remove app features that pressure passengers to pay “tips” or “advance tips” at the time of booking or at the start of a trip.
The ministry said tips must not be sought before a rider boards the vehicle or before a driver accepts the trip. It also instructed platforms not to display messages suggesting that paying extra will help get a vehicle faster or increase the chances of driver acceptance.
According to the ministry, such prompts violate the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines. Any option to add an extra amount should be purely voluntary and should be available only at the time of fare payment or after the trip is fully completed.
The directive follows complaints from the public as well as issues raised around driver payments, the report said.
