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Does the type of phone a consumer uses make a difference in the fare charged when booking an app-based taxi service?
“Some commuters have noticed a curious disparity in cab fares displayed simultaneously on Android devices and iPhones for identical rides, which has left them wondering if pricing algorithms on ride-hailing apps are programmed to charge Apple users higher,” according to a report by the community platform LocalCircles.
This dark pattern, not listed among the 13 identified by the Government of India, stems from how ride-hailing apps access the hardware data of users, which they are required to consent to while installing an app.
LocalCircles has conducted a survey to gauge consumers’ experiences of dark patterns like bait and switch, drip pricing, or forced action when they are made to cancel a ride and end up with a penalty.
Here are the key highlights from the LocalCircles survey, which received 33,000 responses from app taxi users across 269 districts in the country:
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- 61 per cent of respondents were men, while 39 per cent were women.
- 42 per cent of app-based taxi users surveyed said they experienced hidden charges (other than taxes) which were not disclosed upfront.
- 84 per cent of app-based taxi users surveyed said they had experienced ‘forced action’, where they were made to cancel a ride.
- 78 per cent of app-based taxi users surveyed said they had experienced ‘bait and switch’ approaches by platforms.
For example, the waiting time shown to users before booking a ride is significantly less than the actual time it takes for the driver to reach them.
- Uber uses four dark patterns – forced action, interface interference, bait and switch, and drip pricing.
- Ola uses three dark patterns – forced action, bait and switch, and drip pricing.
- BluSmart, InDrive, and Rapido all use ‘drip pricing’.
Eight in ten app taxi users surveyed reported dark patterns like bait and switch and forced action, while four in ten confirmed experiencing drip pricing.
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