New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd, which operates popular bike-taxi and auto-rickshaw platform Rapido, for unfair trade practices, unfair contracts and ‘dark patterns’ that manipulated commuters into paying higher fares before their rides were confirmed.
The Consumer Affairs ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that CCPA had found the Rapido app first quoted a fare to the customer. But when the customer accepted the fare, it prompted them to pay more on the grounds that its operators were not accepting the original fare by displaying messages like ‘Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride’ and ‘Captains aren’t accepting at Rs 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30.’
Under the Centre’s guidelines, this practice amounts to ‘confirm shaming’. It’s one of the dark patterns as it creates a false impression that a rider’s chances of getting a ride quickly depend on paying an additional amount when the rider has already committed to the booking and has limited scope to negotiate, CCPA said in its 34-page order.
The action against Rapido is part of CCPA’s wider scrutiny of dark-pattern practices across ride-hailing and bike-taxi platforms. The examination of Uber and Ola is ongoing, according to the ministry’s statement.
