Centre Cracks Down On Advance Tips, Warns Ride-Hailing Apps Against Pay-For-Faster-Ride Prompts

The Centre has directed ride-hailing platforms to remove tip-related prompts appearing before or during a ride, saying passengers should not be encouraged to pay extra to secure faster confirmation, driver acceptance or better service.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in an August 11, 2026 directive, asked motor vehicle aggregators to immediately review their apps and comply with the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.

The ministry said it had noticed prompts such as “Advance Tip”, “Choose an Add-on” and messages suggesting that adding a tip could improve the chances of quicker ride confirmation.

The government has not banned tipping itself. Under Clause 14.15 of the 2025 guidelines, passengers can voluntarily tip drivers, but the option can appear only after the journey ends. It cannot be offered during booking, before the trip or while it is underway. The entire tip must go to the driver without any deduction by the aggregator.

MoRTH's directive goes beyond the words “advance tip”. It prohibits any feature, prompt, message, add-on, payment option or interface element shown before ride completion if it creates the impression that additional payment could improve ride confirmation, driver acceptance, driver allocation, waiting time or service quality.

This wording could also cover attempts to replace advance tips with differently named paid features such as priority booking or faster confirmation, if they effectively achieve the same purpose.

The move follows a longer regulatory dispute. In May 2025, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a notice to Uber over its advance-tip feature, while Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi called the practice unethical and exploitative. The CCPA subsequently examined similar practices involving Ola and Rapido.

The issue resurfaced in June 2026, when Maharashtra authorities ordered action following complaints that passengers were allegedly being forced to pay tips or additional amounts to app-based taxi drivers.