New Delhi — India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority has fined Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates ride-hailing platform Rapido, Rs 10 lakh for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, an unfair contract and the use of dark patterns in its ride-booking process.
The action followed a broader examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms, with regulators focusing on pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing practices.
The authority said Rapido 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 bookings were 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 authority, Rapido first quoted a fare and then, after a rider booked at that price, encouraged the rider to pay more by suggesting captains were not accepting the original fare.
The CCPA said the practice created the impression that paying more would improve a rider’s chances of securing a ride quickly, particularly after the consumer had already committed to the booking.
The authority classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming,” a dark pattern identified under India’s 2023 Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns. It said the prompts created urgency and fear that riders could lose their ride if they declined to pay more.
The CCPA also reviewed Rapido’s “Set your price” slider and found that its color-coded design could influence fare decisions. Raising the price generated a green message indicating a “higher chance of getting a ride,” while lowering the price triggered red or orange warnings.
The authority also said the slider gave riders more room to increase the fare than to reduce it. (Source: IANS)
