MoRTH Directs Ride Apps to End Pre-Trip Tipping Prompts

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has asked motor vehicle aggregators to remove all tip-related prompts from their mobile applications prior to acceptance or ride completion with immediate effect, and ensure strict compliance with the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.

The transport ministry in it's directive dated August 11, 2026 said that the attention of this ministry has been drawn to the display by certain ride aggregators of prompts/options such as "Advance Tip", "Choose an Add-on", "Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation", "A driver may be more likely to accept this trip if you add a tip", or similar interface elements prior to acceptance or completion of a ride.

All Motor Vehicle Aggregators are, therefore, 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, it stated.

"Any interface or functionality inconsistent with the above provisions should be suitably modified without delay," it said.

Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, allows aggregators to provide a feature on their App for passengers to give a voluntary tip to the driver.


However, such features 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, MoRTH said.

According to Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, the entire tip amount shall be credited to the driver without any deduction by the aggregator.

"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 and the rules and regulations made thereunder," the MoRTH directive said.

According to the ministry, the above provision clearly envisages that tipping shall be entirely voluntary and shall be offered only after completion of the journey.

"Accordingly, 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," it said.