Ride-hailing app inDriver has expanded to Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria, with over 1 000 new drivers already registered in each city.
The Uber and Bolt rival launched in Cape Town and Johannesburg earlier this year. It entered the African market in Tanzania in 2018, and has since expanded its reach to 10 African cities across five African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
According to the company, the app was built to counter price surging by other ride-hailing companies and gives the power of setting prices back to passengers and drivers.
The app’s business model is based on what it calls the real-time deals model, which allows passengers to set their own fare for their chosen route. Nearby drivers who receive notice of ride requests have three choices – to accept the fare offered, ignore the offer or bargain for a higher price.
It can be downloaded from Google Play and the Apple App Store.
“We designed the app to combat algorithms used by other ride-hailing companies, which rack up prices because of peak hours, traffic and request history,” says inDriver spokesperson Rifqa Carr.
“Passengers using the app pay on average 20% to 30% less than with other services. We do have a fare minimum, which is region-specific, but the final fare is set by both rider and driver in a real-time negotiation.”
The company was founded in Yakutsk, Russia in 2012. It is used by 32 million people across more than 300 cities in 26 countries worldwide.
Six years after its launch, inDriver claims to be among the top five ride-sharing and taxi apps downloaded globally.
The app also benefits drivers, with 0% commission charged for the first six to 12 months.
InDriver says it does not automatically assign drivers to riders.
“Drivers have the freedom to choose whichever ride request they like, without any risk of being penalised. They’re also able to see the full fare, from point A to point B, and can then decide if they want to accept the request – or not,” explains Carr.
Once the fare is set, passengers select the most suitable driver in line with what categories are most important to them – affordability, driver rating, estimated time of arrival or vehicle model.
Cutting out transaction fees and other costs associated with higher commission rates, payment is cash only.
The app has a safety button which allows both driver and riders to call emergency numbers from the home screen. Both parties can also share their live GPS locations with friends and trusted contacts at the start of their trip.
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