Top News

A very relieving news has come to the fore for crores of passengers using online cab and auto services across the country. It was often seen that whenever passengers opened the app to book a ride, even before the journey started, the drivers asked for a tip or an option for advance tip would pop up, causing inconvenience to many passengers. To curb this arbitrary and additional economic pressure, the government has now adopted a tough stance. The central government and concerned transport departments have issued strict instructions to aggregator companies and drivers, completely prohibiting asking for any kind of tip before booking.

What was the main problem of the passengers and why did this demand arise?

For some time now, there have been continuous complaints that while booking a ride on Ola, Uber, Rapid and other cab-auto aggregator apps, riders are being pressurized to tip either compulsorily or even before the ride is confirmed. Many times drivers would cancel rides or misbehave with customers for not tipping. Travelers said tips should always be a voluntary amount given after being happy with the service, and not a mandatory part of the booking or a hidden fee. Taking these ever increasing complaints seriously, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Transport Authority took cognizance of this matter and directed the companies to make changes in their user interface.

New instructions from the government and strict rules for aggregator companies

According to the new guidelines issued by the government, now no cab or auto booking app will be able to ask for tip option or amount from passengers before the ride is confirmed. This option of tip should appear on the screen only at the time of completion of journey and payment, and that too as a completely optional matter. If a driver asks for an extra tip before accepting the ride or in the middle of the journey, passengers can lodge a complaint directly on the company's portal. A warning has also been given of strict legal action like heavy fines and cancellation of licenses against companies and drivers violating the rules.

Passengers will get transparent and fair fare options

This new decision will not only provide mental and financial relief to the passengers, but will also make the ride booking process completely transparent. Now passengers will have to pay the same fare as decided while booking the ride on the app, and will be free from any additional pressure. This step of the government has been heartily welcomed by daily commuters and office goers across the country. Experts believe that such strict rules will strengthen customer trust on ride-sharing platforms and will also improve the quality of service.