CCPA fines Rapido Rs 10 lakh over misleading ads and dark patterns

MUMBAI: Rapido’s ride may be affordable, but the CCPA says some of the prompts along the way were pushing passengers to pay more. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services, which operates Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices and the use of dark patterns.

The action follows the regulator’s broader examination of ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms over practices involving pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. During its review, the CCPA found Rapido displaying prompts such as “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren’t accepting at ₹60. Try adding +10, +20, +30” while bookings were still being processed.

The regulator classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern recognised under the 2023 guidelines. According to the CCPA, the messages gave riders the impression that paying more was necessary to improve their chances of securing a ride, even after they had initiated the booking.

Rapido’s “Set your price” slider also came under scrutiny. The CCPA termed it “Interface Interference”, pointing to the way the interface visually encouraged users to increase their fare.

When users raised the price, the interface displayed a green “higher chance of getting a ride” message, while lowering it triggered a red or orange warning. The regulator also noted that the slider provided more room to increase the fare than reduce it, which it said could steer consumers towards paying more.

The CCPA separately questioned Rapido’s use of an advance payment labelled as a “tip”. It noted that the fare displayed during booking already takes factors such as distance, time, traffic and tolls into account, while a tip is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after a service has been provided.

The regulator also referred to the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which provide that tipping features should be offered only after a ride has been completed, rather than at booking or during the journey.

Rapido argued that the tip remained voluntary and that its ride-matching algorithm continued to operate regardless of whether a rider paid an additional amount.

The CCPA, however, rejected the argument, noting that Rapido had not produced data demonstrating that an additional payment actually improved a rider’s likelihood of securing a ride. It consequently found the claim that paying more increased the chances of getting a ride to be unsubstantiated and misleading.

The penalty comes as the regulator takes a wider look at the design choices made by ride-hailing platforms. The CCPA has previously issued notices to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, asking them to comply with the 2023 dark-pattern guidelines and submit self-declarations on compliance. Its examination of Uber and Ola remains underway.

The latest action falls under the CCPA’s mandate under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to curb unfair trade practices and misleading advertising.

For ride-hailing apps, the message is becoming harder to miss: convenience may get passengers into a cab, but the regulator is now looking closely at every nudge that could make the fare go up before the ride even begins.