Ola fined Rs 10 lakh over pre-ride tips; drivers accepted tipped requests less often

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has fined Ola’s operator Rs 10 lakh and ordered it to stop asking passengers for a pre-ride tip while they wait for a driver. The Union consumer affairs ministry released details of the order on Friday, 13 November. The prompt, the authority ruled, was a dark pattern, a screen design that nudges users into paying more, and also an unfair trade practice.

The message appeared once a ride was booked at an upfront fare, as the app searched for a driver. It offered pre-set sums and hinted that extra money might bring a car sooner. Ola later renamed the “tip” an “add-on”. The authority, led by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, found nothing else changed.

What Ola’s own figures showed

Ola’s booking records for 1 to 15 June 2026 told another story. In Delhi, drivers accepted 38% of requests with an add-on, against 62% of those without. The split was 40% to 68% in Bengaluru and 39% to 68% in Mumbai. Hiding these figures from riders was concealment of material facts under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it held.

In May 2025 the suggested sums were Rs 10-40; they later reached as much as Rs 140, and the screen took up to Rs 499. The prompt implied that riders who did not pay might wait longer or miss the ride. That fear, the authority held, amounted to “confirm shaming” under the 2023 dark pattern guidelines. It also found no way to close the prompt, and a line such as “Generous Add On!” pressed for more.

Such requests came from airports, railway stations, hospitals and inter-state bus terminals, Ola’s data showed. Patients, older people, travellers with luggage and those riding alone or after dark could be especially vulnerable, the authority said.

When a tip is allowed

Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 governs tips, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways restated it in a letter to every aggregator on 11 August 2026: a tip option may appear only once the trip is over, never at booking or mid-ride, and all of it must go to the driver. Ola, the authority found, kept showing the prompt after that letter.

The direction names no city: Ola must drop every pre-trip request for money from its app, whatever the label, and pay the penalty. Rapido’s operator, Roppen Transportation Services, was earlier fined Rs 10 lakh over the same practice. Uber and Namma Yatri still face investigation, the authority said.

Passengers who see such a prompt can complain to the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, on WhatsApp at 8800001915, or by email to com-ccpa@gov.in. The full order is on the authority’s website.