Mint Explainer | How the advance tipping ban could change ride-hailing bookings

The ministry of road transport and highways has tweaked cab aggregator guidelines to ban advance tipping—a feature that allowed passengers to offer a tip upfront while booking a ride. What does this mean for the companies bracing for short-term friction, and how will incentive redesign to offset the long-term impact? Mint explains.Queries sent to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri following the 26 December notification did not elicit a response until press time.Advance tipping refers to a feature on ride-hailing apps that allows passengers to add a tip at the time of booking, before a ride is accepted or completed.

Unlike traditional tipping, which follows service delivery, advance tips operate as an upfront monetary signal, explicitly indicating a user’s willingness to pay more for faster pickup or better ride certainty. Importantly, platforms maintained that tips flowed entirely to drivers, and were not going towards commissions, subscription fees, or revenue-sharing arrangements.The feature was first rolled out first by Google-backed Namma Yatri in Bengaluru and was soon mirrored across platforms such as Uber, Ola and Rapido, especially during peak hours and high-demand zones.Concerns around advance tipping surfaced in mid-2024, when consumer complaints began flagging repeated prompts, interface nudges, and perceived pressure to tip in order to secure rides.In early 2025, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to Uber, and subsequently to Ola and Rapido, following public criticism by consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, who termed the practice “unethical and exploitative”.About 78% of users said they faced repeated prompts to add an advance tip, while 90% reported cancelling rides because