Journey-hailing apps gave the impression to be partaking in wordplay a day after the Centre pulled up an aggregator over its advancing tipping characteristic, the place customers pay additional fees upfront for quicker companies, dubbing it “unethical and unprofessional”.
Union Shopper Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who directed the Central Shopper Safety Authority (CCPA) on Wednesday to challenge a discover to Uber over its advance tipping characteristic, introduced a day later that the CCPA was additionally investigating different apps akin to Ola and Rapido, which he stated would equally be requested for explanations if discovered indulging in such practices.
Following the Centre’s motion, Benglauru’s SaaS(software program as a service)-based mobility app Namma Yatri—additionally the primary one to introduce superior tipping in India—barely modified language from “add a tip” to “add extra (voluntary)” to discover a trip.
The corporate additionally defended its tipping coverage by arguing that clients are given the choice solely after 30 seconds, if no driver accepts the trip request from them.
The CCPA has not introduced Namma Yatri’s advance tipping characteristic beneath its scanner.
Shan M S, chief working officer of Namma Yatri, stated, “Mobility must be open, clear, and community-led. On latest tipping issues: our ‘add extra’ characteristic is 100 per cent voluntary, customer-led, and the UI (person interface) now clearly displays this. Namma Yatri’s mannequin is direct-to-driver, no fee, no stake in last fares, no reductions, and no unreasonable surge. The purpose is straightforward: pricing that’s truthful, sustainable, and empathetic to each drivers and riders.”
Shan added, “We absolutely assist the Union minister’s name for platforms to be truthful, clear, and accountable — values which have guided us from day one. At Namma Yatri, now we have no monetary stake in pricing. We don’t take commissions, don’t management pricing, and 100 per cent of the fare and any voluntary addition goes on to the motive force. We additionally keep away from reductions and unreasonable surge pricing. The app suggests fares based mostly on government-prescribed charges, contemplating visitors, distance, and congestion—however the last value is all the time agreed upon by the motive force and buyer.”
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Shan additionally highlighted that to assist community-based pricing, Namma Yatri has a bounded driver addition and an optionally available “add extra” characteristic for patrons—a voluntary gesture to recognise additional effort by drivers throughout lengthy waits, distant pickups, peak-hour visitors, or return journey availability.
For its half, Rapido stated it didn’t cost any advance tip from clients earlier than the trip begins for autorickshaws and cabs however provides passengers an choice to “add an additional fare” for its bike rides.
A spokesperson of Rapido stated, “As of now, Rapido has not obtained any notices or communication from the Central Shopper Safety Authority or another regulatory physique on this subject material. We stay dedicated to adhering to all relevant legal guidelines and rules governing our operations and can promptly handle any issues raised by regulatory authorities, ought to they come up.”
The corporate acknowledged that it didn’t cost any fee from drivers for autorickshaw and cab rides facilitated by means of the platform beneath the SaaS mannequin. Additional, Rapido additionally clarified that the fare is decided immediately by passengers and drivers by means of mutual settlement on the app, with none involvement from the corporate.
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“For bike rides, Rapido operates beneath a commission-based mannequin. Right here, passengers have an choice to add an additional fare, which can be interpreted as a surge value. This extra fare is completely optionally available and is utilized provided that the shopper explicitly agrees to it,” the spokesperson stated.
“Rapido doesn’t cost any tip from clients earlier than the trip begins. This characteristic is designed solely as a comfort choice for passengers, and clients are free to say no it whereas nonetheless with the ability to safe a trip if the captain accepts the request,” the spokesperson added.