CCPA fines Rapido Rs 10 lakh over misleading prompts, dark patterns in ride bookings

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Tuesday said that it has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, an unfair contract and the use of dark patterns to prompt riders to pay more before their rides were confirmed.

The action follows a sector-wide examination by the CCPA of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms in India, with a focus on practices related to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. During its examination, the authority found that the Rapido app displayed prompts such as “Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride” and “Captains aren't accepting at Rs 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30” while a rider’s booking was still being processed.

"The CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract and dark patterns in the manner in which riders were prompted to pay more before their rides were confirmed," the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said.

According to the CCPA, the app first quoted a fare to the rider and, after the booking was made at that fare, prompted the rider to pay an additional amount on the grounds that captains were not accepting the original price. The authority said the practice created a false impression that paying more would improve the chances of getting a ride quickly, particularly when the rider had already committed to the booking. The CCPA held that the practice amounted to “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

It said the prompts created a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride if the consumer declined to pay more. The authority also examined Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its colour-coded design influenced riders’ pricing decisions. Increasing the price displayed a “higher chance of getting a ride” message in green, while lowering the price triggered red or orange warnings. The CCPA also noted that the slider provided greater room to increase the fare than to reduce it.

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