New Delhi, Aug 26 : Passengers using the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) platform continue to face a range of digital hurdles during ticket booking and cancellation, with a new LocalCircles survey flagging several practices as potential “dark patterns” that may influence or disrupt consumer choices.
The survey, which received more than 90,000 responses from users across 324 districts, found that 70 per cent of respondents had experienced forced action on the IRCTC platform. Nagging was reported by 46 per cent of users, while 45 per cent said they had encountered basket sneaking. The findings were assessed against the 13 types of dark patterns notified by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).
Forced action emerged as the most widely reported issue. In the context of IRCTC bookings, respondents mainly associated the practice with being logged out of their accounts without an apparent reason while attempting to book tickets.
Around 42 per cent said such logouts happened very frequently, while another 28 per cent said they experienced them sometimes. About 15 per cent reported facing the issue rarely, while an equal proportion said they had never experienced it.
Unexpected logouts can be particularly disruptive for passengers making time-sensitive reservations, as they may have to restart the booking process and risk losing their preferred seat or train.
The survey also highlighted nagging as another common issue. Around 46 per cent of respondents said they were repeatedly prompted or interrupted while booking or cancelling tickets. Such prompts reportedly included requests to download the IRCTC app, provide additional personal information or enable notifications.
Basket sneaking was reported by 45 per cent of respondents. According to the survey, users encountered situations where additional products or services, including insurance, donations or paid offerings, were added during the booking process without their explicit consent.
The report also raised concerns over drip pricing, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they had encountered charges other than taxes that were not clearly disclosed upfront during ticket booking or cancellation.
Meanwhile, 31 per cent of users reported interface interference, where the booking screen was interrupted and another product or service was presented for purchase. Another 38 per cent said they had experienced bait and switch, referring to instances where the ticket, train or seat ultimately booked differed from what they had initially requested.
70 pc users report forced action on IRCTC platform: Survey
