No 'advance tips': Govt issues guidelines for tipping cab drivers, asks aggregators to stop pre-ride prompts — report
The government reportedly cited a clause in the guidelines that specifies that passengers may give drivers a voluntary tip only after the journey is complete.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has instructed vehicle aggregators to eliminate pre-ride tip prompts from their mobile apps, insisting that tipping should be a voluntary act carried out only after the journey has concluded. According to a directive issued on August 11, the government cited concerns that certain ride aggregators were displaying messages like "Advance Tip", "Choose an Add-on", and "A driver may be more likely to accept this trip if you add a tip" prior to a ride being accepted or concluded.
These features, according to the MoRTH, breach the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines of 2025. All aggregators have been directed to swiftly revise their mobile applications and digital platforms to ensure strict adherence to Clause 14.15 of these guidelines. The ministry emphasized that any interface or functionality contradicting the aforementioned provisions must be modified without delay.
The guidelines stipulate that passengers may opt to tip drivers voluntarily only post-completion of the journey. Under Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, aggregators are permitted to offer a feature enabling passengers to voluntarily tip drivers; however, this feature must only be accessible post-journey completion and not before the ride commences or during the ride itself, the MoRTH clarified.
The tip amount must be directly credited to the driver without any deductions by the aggregator. Moreover, the guidelines prohibit any tipping feature or mechanism that is misleading, manipulative, or violates the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and related rules. Any tipping feature or mechanism provided in the app that is misleading, manipulative, or otherwise contravenes the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the rules and regulations made thereunder, is strictly forbidden, as per the guidelines.
The ministry reiterated that tipping must be entirely voluntary and can only be offered post-journey completion. Consequently, no feature, prompt, message, add-on, payment option, or user interface element should be displayed before the conclusion of the ride that directly or indirectly suggests that paying an additional amount could enhance ride confirmation, driver acceptance, driver allocation, waiting time, or the quality of service.
This directive follows the trend of ride-hailing platforms increasingly utilizing in-app prompts and add-on options during the booking process.
Written by urgent.news from Live Mint's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
