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Companies apply these extra charges during adverse weather, even for premium users.
Zomato charges a Rs 10 platform fee per order. (Representative Image)
Food delivery apps have come under fire for adding extra charges labelled as “Weather Surcharge,” “Traffic Surge,” or “Platform Fee”—often leaving customers frustrated as these fees can significantly inflate the final bill. While such surcharges may seem reasonable during heavy rain or peak traffic, given the added difficulty of delivering in such conditions, they’re being applied even to premium users.
The real concern arises when these fees show up despite clear skies and smooth roads. If there’s no rain or traffic in your area, is it fair for the app to still tack on these extra costs?
“It’s not even drizzling a little bit but Zomato has Rain surge fees added from the last 4 hours. Bangalore! Next, there will be a traffic surge at 1am. LoL. @zomato @zomatocare,” he wrote on X.
It’s not even drizzling a little bit but zomato has Rain surge fees added from last 4 hours. Bangalore ! Next there will be traffic surge at 1am .. LoL.. @zomato @zomatocare– Merrybrains (Prakhyath Rai) (@Prakzrai) June 10, 2025
However, Zomato was quick to address the problem faced by the user and responded, “Hi Prakhyath, we’d like to get this checked. Please share your registered contact details/order details via DM so that we can look into this.”
Earlier in May 2025, Zomato announced that Gold Members will no longer be exempt from paying the rain surge fee. The company informed users about this change through an in-app notification. The message read, “Starting May 16, surge fee waiver during rains will not be part of your Gold benefits.”
Similarly, Zomato’s rival Swiggy also imposes additional charges during rainy days, even for users subscribed to its Swiggy One membership.
This comes at a time when Rapido, the popular bike-taxi and cab-booking platform, is preparing to disrupt the food delivery space with its own budget-friendly service, Ownly. According to a pitch deck accessed by CNBC, Rapido aims to build a low-cost, transparent food delivery ecosystem. Unlike existing players like Zomato and Swiggy, which charge restaurants a commission per order, Rapido plans to skip commission and platform fees altogether. Instead, it will adopt a subscription model for partner restaurants. On the customer side, the company intends to charge a flat fee: ₹25 for orders under ₹400 and ₹50 for those above ₹400.
Not just that, Rapido also plans to cut delivery costs for customers. For orders above ₹100, the app will reportedly charge a flat delivery fee of ₹25 plus GST, but customers will only pay ₹20, with Rapido covering the rest. For orders below ₹100, the delivery fee will be just ₹10, making it one of the most affordable options in the market.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
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Delhi, India, India
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