India Ministry bans pre-ride tipping on ride-hailing apps

The Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a directive banning ride-hailing platforms from prompting passengers to tip before a trip is completed. The ministry stated that pre-ride tipping prompts, such as “Advance Tip” or suggestions that a tip might “improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation,” violate the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines and are considered “misleading, manipulative, or otherwise in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.”

Under the new rules, tipping must remain entirely voluntary and the option to tip can only be displayed after the journey has ended. Furthermore, aggregators are prohibited from deducting any portion of the tip for platform fees, commissions, or service charges; the full amount must be passed directly to the driver. The ministry has instructed all cab aggregators to immediately update their applications to comply with these transparency and consumer protection measures.