CCPA fines Rapido Rs 10 lakh over misleading fare prompts and dark patterns

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on ride-hailing platform Rapido for allegedly using misleading advertisements, unfair contractual terms and deceptive interface practices to persuade customers to pay more for rides.

The action against Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, which operates Rapido, followed a wider examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregators in India over pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing practices, the government said on Tuesday.

The regulator had earlier issued notices to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, directing them to comply with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023. The CCPA’s examination of Uber and Ola remains under way.

Dark patterns refer to deceptive interface designs that manipulate or mislead consumers into making choices they may not otherwise have made.

During its review, the CCPA found that Rapido displayed prompts such as “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and encouraged users to add Rs 10, Rs 20 or Rs 30 when drivers did not accept the fare initially displayed. These messages appeared while the booking was still being processed.

According to the authority, Rapido’s algorithm first showed customers a fare and then, after they attempted to book at that price, prompted them to pay more on the grounds that drivers were unwilling to accept the original amount.

The regulator held that this created the misleading impression that securing a ride quickly depended on paying an additional sum. Since customers had already initiated the booking process, their ability to negotiate or reconsider was limited.

The CCPA classified the practice as “confirm shaming”, a dark pattern under the 2023 guidelines. It said the prompts created urgency and a fear that the customer would lose the ride unless a higher fare was accepted.

The regulator also raised concerns about Rapido’s “Set your price” slider, which it found had been colour-coded in a manner capable of influencing customers’ fare selections.

The CCPA noted that the initial fare shown at the time of booking already accounted for factors such as the distance and duration of the journey, traffic conditions, tolls and the amount payable to the driver. It therefore found no justification for subsequently urging the customer to pay more for the same journey before it had begun.

The authority further observed that a tip is ordinarily voluntary and should not be presented as a requirement for receiving a service. It rejected Rapido’s submissions defending the manner in which such additional payments were presented to riders.

The order was issued by the CCPA under Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra as part of the regulator’s broader scrutiny of consumer-facing practices across ride-hailing platforms.

With PTI inputs