Commuters, gig workers’ union welcome ₹10 lakh penalty on Rapido for ‘confirm shaming’
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With the Central Consumer Protection Authority slapping a ₹10 lakh fine on Rapido for “confirm shaming” passengers, an expression which they used to describe prompts at the time of booking rides that encourage app users to pay more than the displayed fare, commuters and gig workers’ union alike welcomed the move.
“It was only four days ago that I booked an auto from the Begumpet Metro Station to my house. The app screen displayed a prompt that incentivised drivers taking my trip if I added more money. This has been happening for a long time. In fact, I read the news that the government had ordered an end to this,” said K. Nisha, an educator, working at a school in Banjara Hills.
A media professional who often uses an aggregator for rides on two wheelers echoed similar experiences.
It was in August that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways directed ride hailing aggregators not to display tipping prompts before or during a journey in a communication to motor vehicle aggregators. The Ministry emphasised that tipping is voluntary. It discouraged prompts that could be construed as advance tips, incentives for quicker ride confirmation or add-ons before a journey begins.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union welcomed the move, and stated that a voluntary and transparent post ride tipping option must be available to passengers if they wished to tip the cabbie or the rider.
“Remove misleading red/orange price warnings. Stop manipulating consumers. And when customers genuinely appreciate a worker’s service, give them a clear option to tip directly to the gig and platform worker after the ride, voluntarily and transparently,” said TGPWU office bearer Shaik Salauddin.
In a separate development, the union, touching upon Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI, stated that MDR must never be indirectly recovered from the worker’s earnings. “Gig workers already pay for fuel, vehicle EMI, maintenance, insurance and other operational costs. Their hard-earned earnings must not be further reduced through hidden payment charges,” the union stated.
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