No More Pre-Ride Tips? Govt Orders Ride-Hailing Apps To Remove Prompts

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has told ride-hailing aggregators to remove tipping prompts that appear before a ride is completed. Under Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, tips must be voluntary and can be offered only after the journey ends.

It applies to all motor vehicle aggregators under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The entire tip must go to the driver. The aggregator cannot deduct anything from it. The tip cannot be available: at booking, before the journey begins, or during the journey.

What Has MoRTH Directed Ride Aggregators To Do?

The advisory cited the following prompts as examples: “Advance Tip”, “Choose an Add-on”, “Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation”. No tipping feature or mechanism shall be provided in the App that is misleading, manipulative, or otherwise in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The vehicle aggregators are advised to immediately review their mobile applications and digital platforms and ensure strict compliance with Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025. Any interface or functionality inconsistent with the above provisions should be suitably modified without delay, as per the directive.

When Can Passengers Tip Ride-Hailing Drivers?

The App may provide a feature for passengers to give a voluntary tip to the driver, as the guidelines do not ban tipping altogether. But, such feature shall only be visible after the completion of the journey, and should not be available at the time of booking, before the commencement of the journey or during the journey.

No feature, prompt, message, add-on, payment option, or user interface element should be displayed before completion of the ride that directly or indirectly encourages, induces, or creates an impression that payment of any additional amount may improve ride confirmation, driver acceptance, driver allocation, waiting time, or quality of service.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra has made working knowledge of Marathi mandatory for autorickshaw, taxi and app-based cab drivers from August 18, 2026. The state transport department amended the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to allow suspension of driving licences for up to three months for non-compliance, with repeated violations leading to cancellation.

Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said passenger transport drivers need to know Marathi to communicate effectively with commuters. “Driving licences can be suspended for up to three months for lack of Marathi knowledge; repeated violations can lead to permanent cancellation,” Sarnaik said. He added that the amendments would remove ambiguity in the rules and make the need for working knowledge of Marathi clearer. The department had earlier set August 15 as the deadline after announcing the policy in April.