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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has directed motor vehicle aggregators to remove tipping prompts and related options from their mobile applications before a ride is accepted or completed. The ministry has asked aggregators to comply with Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which permits passengers to tip drivers only after completing a journey. The entire tip must go to the driver without any deduction by the aggregator. MoRTH has also warned against interface features that could mislead or influence passengers into believing that tipping could improve ride confirmation, driver acceptance, allocation, waiting time or service quality.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has directed motor vehicle aggregators to remove all tip-related prompts from their mobile applications before the acceptance or completion of a ride, with immediate effect.
The ministry issued the direction after taking note of certain ride aggregators displaying options and prompts such as advance tipping, add-ons and messages suggesting that adding a tip could increase the chances of quicker ride confirmation or make a driver more likely to accept a trip.
MoRTH has asked all motor vehicle aggregators to review their mobile applications and other digital platforms and ensure strict compliance with Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025. Any interface or functionality that does not comply with the provision has to be modified without delay.
Under Clause 14.15, aggregators may provide passengers with a feature to voluntarily tip drivers through their applications. However, the tipping option can only be made available after the journey has been completed. It cannot be displayed during booking, before the journey starts or while the journey is underway.
The guidelines also state that the entire tip amount must be credited to the driver, with no deduction by the aggregator.
MoRTH has further clarified that aggregators cannot provide a tipping feature or mechanism that is misleading or manipulative, or that violates the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the rules and regulations made under it.
The ministry said the provision makes it clear that tipping must remain completely voluntary and can only be offered after the completion of a journey. This means aggregators cannot display any feature, prompt, message, add-on, payment option or other interface element before the ride is completed if it directly or indirectly encourages passengers to make an additional payment.
The restriction also covers interfaces that create an impression that paying a tip could improve the chances of ride confirmation, driver acceptance or allocation, reduce waiting time or result in better service quality.
The direction places the responsibility on aggregators to review their digital interfaces and remove any pre-ride tipping mechanism that could influence a passenger's decision to pay an additional amount. It also reinforces the distinction under the 2025 guidelines between a voluntary post-journey tip and any payment presented as a factor that could affect the booking or quality of a ride.
Source PTI
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