Ride-hailing platforms can no longer nudge passengers to tip drivers before a ride is completed, with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) directing cab aggregators to immediately remove prompts and payment options that suggest a tip could improve the chances of securing a ride.The ministry, in a notification has drawn the attention of aggregators to Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, which permits tipping only as a voluntary feature visible after completion of the journey.According to the notification, “The App may provide a feature for passengers to give a voluntary tip to the driver; however, such feature 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”.The advisory comes against the backdrop of interface prompts displayed by certain ride aggregators, including “Advance Tip”, “Choose an Add-on”, “Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation” and messages suggesting that a driver may be more likely to accept a trip if a passenger adds a tip.MoRTH said the guidelines clearly envisage tipping as entirely voluntary and prohibit its availability at the time of booking, before commencement of the journey or during the ride.Under Clause 14.15, aggregators may provide a post-journey tipping facility, but the entire tip amount must be credited to the driver without any deduction by the aggregator. The guidelines also prohibit tipping mechanisms that are misleading, manipulative or otherwise violate the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and related rules.The ministry has clarified that no feature, prompt, message, add-on, payment option or other user-interface element should appear before the completion of a ride if it directly or indirectly encourages passengers to pay an additional amount or creates an impression that doing so could improve ride confirmation, driver acceptance, driver allocation, waiting time or quality of service.MoRTH has accordingly advised all motor vehicle aggregators to immediately review their mobile applications and digital platforms and ensure strict compliance with Clause 14.15. Any interface or functionality inconsistent with the provision is to be suitably modified without delay.