No more ‘advance tips’: Government orders Uber, Ola and Rapido to remove pre-ride tipping

India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has directed ride-hailing aggregators — including Uber, Ola, and Rapido — to immediately remove pre-ride tipping prompts from their apps, saying the feature nudges passengers into paying extra to secure faster pickups. The directive, issued on August 11, applies to all motor vehicle aggregators and follows months of complaints about the practice.

At issue are in-app prompts such as “Advance Tip” and “Choose an Add-on,” along with messages implying that a driver may be more likely to accept a booking if the rider pays a little more upfront. The government says such nudges violate the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, and has ordered platforms to bring their apps into compliance without delay, placing the burden on the aggregators rather than announcing a phased rollout.

What the rules say

Under Clause 14.15 of the 2025 guidelines, tipping must remain entirely voluntary and can be offered only after a journey has been completed. That means passengers should no longer see any tipping option:

•    at the booking stage,
•    before the ride begins, or
•    while the trip is in progress.

No app feature, prompt, payment option, or interface element may create the impression that paying extra could influence driver allocation, booking confirmation, waiting times, or service quality. The ministry also reiterated that aggregators cannot deduct any commission or processing fee from a tip — the entire amount must go directly to the driver — and warned that pre-ride tipping mechanisms which pressure or mislead commuters could amount to manipulative practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Months of complaints

The order follows a public backlash, particularly against Uber’s advance-tip feature, with riders alleging on social media that they were being pushed to pay extra simply to get bookings accepted faster during peak hours. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued Uber a notice over the practice and went on to examine other platforms for similar patterns. Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had earlier described the practice as “unethical and exploitative.”

What changes for riders

Crucially, tipping itself has not been banned. Fare estimates, wait times, and other charges will continue to be shown upfront as before; only the tipping option moves to a strictly post-ride touchpoint, most likely on the payment or rating screen after drop-off. With MoRTH requiring immediate compliance, riders on Uber, Ola, and Rapido can expect the advance-tip prompts to disappear from their apps in the near term.

Sources: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; WION; Storyboard18; Outlook Business. August 2026.