Ride-hailing aggregators told to remove tipping prompts

Synopsis

The road transport ministry has mandated that motor vehicle aggregators eliminate any tipping prompts that appear before or during trips. This decision is based on the need for adherence to the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, especially after instances of deceptive tipping practices were noted. Tips should only be suggested post-trip to ensure all funds go directly to drivers without any reductions.

New Delhi: The road transport and highways ministry on Wednesday directed motor vehicle aggregators to pull down all pre-trip and mid-trip tipping prompts from their mobile applications with immediate effect, emphasising the need for strict compliance with the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.

It comes after multiple instances were reported where certain ride aggregators were displaying prompts or options, such as "Advance Tip", "Choose an Add-on", "Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation" and "A driver may be more likely to accept this trip if you add a tip", or similar interface elements prior to acceptance or completion of a ride, the ministry said in its directive dated August 11.

Citing clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, the ministry directed all motor vehicle aggregators to immediately review their mobile applications and digital platforms and ensure strict compliance. "Any interface or functionality inconsistent with the above provisions should be suitably modified without delay," the directive said. Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 allows aggregators to provide a feature on their application for passengers to give a voluntary tip to the driver. However, such features should be visible only after the completion of the journey and should not be available at the time of booking, before the commencement of the journey or during the journey, the ministry said. As per the norms, the entire tip amount is to be credited to the driver without any deduction by the aggregator and no mechanism is to be provided in the app that is misleading.