Commission orders RedBus to pay Rs 10K for cancelling ticket 17 minutes before departure
A consumer commission in Himachal Pradesh has ordered RedBus to pay compensation to a passenger after a ticket was cancelled just 17 minutes before departure. The ruling establishes that online booking platforms cannot evade liability by claiming to be mere intermediaries after accepting payments.
Why it matters
This sets a legal precedent for consumer protection in the digital travel booking sector, increasing accountability for online aggregators.
NEW DELHI: A district consumer commission in Himachal Pradesh has held RedBus and a bus operator jointly responsible for cancelling a passenger's confirmed ticket just 17 minutes before departure, leaving him stranded late at night and forcing him to book an emergency flight to Delhi. The commission, in its July 4th order, ruled that online booking platforms cannot escape responsibility by simply calling themselves an intermediary once they have accepted payment and confirmed a booking.What led to the consumer complaintThe complainant, Jayant Patial, booked a bus ticket from Palampur to Delhi through RedBus on October 5, 2023, paying Rs 600 for it.
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