NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 13: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹10 lakh on Ola operator ANI Technologies Private Limited for soliciting additional payments from passengers before their rides were confirmed, directing the platform to immediately discontinue the practice.
The authority held that Ola’s pre-ride ‘tip’ or ‘add-on’ feature misled consumers by suggesting that paying extra could improve their chances of securing a ride faster, terming it an unfair trade practice and a dark pattern under consumer protection regulations.
The CCPA’s findings were particularly significant as Ola’s own booking data contradicted the impression created by the app. Between June 1 and 15, 2026, ride requests carrying an add-on were accepted less frequently than those without one in all three cities examined.
In Delhi, the acceptance rate was 38 per cent for bookings with an add-on against 62 per cent without one. The corresponding figures were 40 per cent against 68 per cent in Bengaluru and 39 per cent against 68 per cent in Mumbai.
The authority found that messages displayed while the app searched for a driver, including “Tip now to boost the chances of getting a ride sooner” and “Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation!”, created a misleading impression that additional payment could speed up driver acceptance.
It observed that qualifying words such as ‘might’ and ‘chance’ did not change the overall impression conveyed to consumers. Ola also failed to disclose that its own data showed lower acceptance rates for requests carrying add-ons.
The CCPA noted that although Ola subsequently renamed the ‘tip’ feature as an ‘add-on’, its underlying nature remained unchanged. A tip, it observed, is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after a service has been provided and cannot be solicited as a pre-service payment.
The authority also questioned the rationale for seeking additional money after passengers had already booked rides at upfront fares that accounted for peak pricing and the driver’s distance from the pick-up point.
It further flagged the undisclosed basis for calculating suggested payments, which increased from ₹10–₹40 in May 2025 to as much as ₹140, while the interface allowed payments of up to ₹499.
Examining the feature under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, the CCPA held that the prompts amounted to ‘Confirm Shaming’. By implying that passengers who declined to pay extra might face delays or fail to secure a ride, the interface created pressure to make an additional payment.
The authority also noted that the prompt appeared without an option to close it and used messages such as “Generous Add On!” to encourage payments. It flagged the potential impact on vulnerable passengers, including patients, elderly persons and travellers carrying luggage or travelling alone at night.
The practice was also found contrary to Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicles Aggregators Guidelines, 2025, which provides for a tipping feature only after completion of a journey. Ola continued displaying the prompts even after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clarified on August 11, 2026, that such requests could not be made before completion of a ride.
Besides imposing the ₹10 lakh penalty, the CCPA directed Ola to immediately discontinue all pre-ride prompts, messages, preset amounts and interface designs seeking payments over and above the upfront fare, irrespective of whether they are described as tips, add-ons or additional fares.
The authority has also initiated suo motu action against other cab aggregators over the practice. It has already imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on Rapido, while proceedings against Uber and Namma Yatri are under investigation.
