Ola, Uber ‘charging’ iPhone users more, served notice
Leading taxi aggregators Ola and Uber have been served notices by the Department of Consumer Affairs over differential pricing for Android and iPhone commuters, Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday.
In a post on X, Joshi said, “As a follow-up to the earlier observation of apparent differential pricing based on different models of mobiles — iPhone/Android — being used, the Department of Consumer Affairs, through the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), has issued notices to major cab aggregators Ola and Uber, seeking their responses,” the minister noted.
In another post, the minister said that after receiving complaints on the National Consumer Helpline regarding performance issues in iPhones following the iOS 18+ software update, “the department has issued a notice to Apple through the CCPA, seeking a response on the matter”.
Last month, Minister Joshi had requested the CCPA to carry out a comprehensive inquiry and had warned the affected companies that there would be “zero tolerance for consumer exploitation”.
If differential pricing is being used, it is a “blatant disregard” for the rights of customers, he claimed.
Joshi also ordered investigations into other industries like online ticketing apps and food delivery to determine whether similar problems were reported.
