NEW DELHI: The Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued a notice to taxi companies Ola and Uber over alleged differences in the prices of similar taxi rides on mobile operating systems – Android and iOS, the minister of transport said on Thursday. Consumer Affairs, Prahlad Joshi.
“As a follow-up to the previous observation of apparent differential pricing based on the different mobile phone models (iPhones/Android) being used, the Department of Consumer Affairs, through the CCPA, has issued notices to major aggregators of taxis, Ola and Uber, seeking their answers,” the minister said in a publication on X.
This came after several travelers complained about disparity in taxi fares displays simultaneously on Android and iPhone devices for identical rides.
In December, the Times of India investigated and found that the displayed rates were higher on the iOS device compared to Android.
Experts attribute the disparities to the way transportation apps access hardware data, which users must consent to during the app installation process.