We all know how challenging it can be to hail a normal taxi or book a rideshare service, especially during rush hour and the peak holiday season. While motorcycle-taxi alternatives like Angkas, JoyRide, and MoveIt have helped make commuting easier for single passengers in traffic-congested cities, not everyone is comfortable riding on motorcycles and still prefer to ride in cars instead.
Along with GrabCar and JoyRide’s car option, a new ride-hailing service option will hopefully help ease public transport woes. US-based company inDrive recently received accreditation from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) as a transport network company (TNC) in the Philippines.
Here’s what we know so far about inDrive, the latest ride-hailing service rolling out services in the country.
What is inDrive?
With headquarters in Mountain View, California, inDrive (previously known as inDriver), is a global mobility and urban services platform that offers ridesharing and taxi-booking services. Since it first launched in 2013, inDrive has become one of the largest international ride-hailing companies.
With over 175 million downloads in 2022, inDrive is currently the second-largest ridesharing and taxi app worldwide. In addition to ride-hailing, the company also provides other urban services in other markets, including intercity transportation, freight delivery, task assistance, courier delivery, and employment search.
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Where is inDrive available?
Operating in over 700 cities across 45 countries, InDrive has regional hubs in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and CIS nations. The app is popularly used in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador) and Asia (Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India). Its global expansion strategy prioritizes emerging countries.
Is inDrive currently available in the Philippines?
The US-based company is gearing up to launch its ride-hailing services here in the Philippines. In December 2023, it received accreditation from the LTFRB as a transport network company (TNC), which means it can already begin rolling out its services here in the Philippines.
When and where will inDrive be available in the Philippines?
A version of inDrive was launched earlier in Bacolod City specifically for tricycles. According to local news reports, more than 300 drivers have already joined the tricycle-hailing service of inDrive in Bacolod as of November 2023.
No official launch date in the Philippines has been set yet for car rides for other cities, so stay tuned for details. However, in a social media post on December 12, inDrive confirmed that car rides will be available in six major cities, namely, Bacolod, Baguio, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, and Davao. Driver registrations and onboarding will take place for these locations until December 31, 2023.
Is inDrive available in Manila?
As of December 2023, inDrive is currently not yet available in Metro Manila. The company will continue its driver recruitment initiatives before officially launching and expanding its services across the country.
What sets inDrive apart from other ride-hailing apps?
The most interesting aspect of inDrive’s system is its simple and user-friendly app, which introduces a peer-to-peer pricing model or fare proposal system. Passengers can suggest a fare for their ride, while drivers have the flexibility to accept, decline, or propose a counteroffer, without fear of penalties.
Instead of relying on algorithms to set fares and surge pricing used by other similar apps, inDrive allows passengers and drivers to directly negotiate the price of the ride. This means passengers who are experts at haggling can potentially get lower fares than the normal fare on other ride-hailing apps.
Surge-free pricing is another vital difference. inDrive does not have surge pricing, which theoretically means the fare should remain stable even during rush hour or peak seasons, long weekends, and holidays when it’s so difficult to book a ride.
Lastly, passengers can see their driver choice, including the driver’s profile, car details, and rating before confirming the ride. Similar to Grab, users can share ride details with friends and family and rate drivers after the ride.
How to book car rides using inDrive
The inDrive app is already available for download from the Google Play Store and the App Store and the map for setting up the pick up and drop off location makes use of Google Maps. Here’s how to set it up and request rides in the future.
1) Set up your account.
- Download the inDrive app via the Google Play Store, Apple Store, or AppGallery to create an account.
- Enter your mobile number. A code will be sent to you to verify your device.
- Choose your mode: passenger or driver. You can change the mode once you have created an account.
- Enter your name.
- Grant the app access to your location.
2) Request a ride.
- To request a ride, the user specifies a pickup and drop-off location, similar to other ride-hailing apps.
- You will be prompted to input a “reasonable fare” of your choice upon booking. Set the price you are willing to pay.
- Add any comments for the driver. This includes adding additional destinations, indicating the need for a child seat, or a button to indicate if there are more than four passengers.
- Drivers nearby will receive your request and send you price offers.
- Review the offers and choose the one that best suits your budget.
- You can also counteroffer the drivers to negotiate the price further.
- Once you accept a driver’s offer, the ride is confirmed.
- You will see the driver’s profile, car details, and estimated arrival time.
- You can also chat with the driver directly through the app.
According to the FAQ section of the app, if drivers do not respond to requests for rides, you can try increasing the price for the ride, then resubmit your request. Similar to other ride-hailing apps, it’s expected for drivers to be busier during rush hours, so you might have to pay more for the ride. So far, the app only accepts cash as a mode of payment.
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How to book a courier using inDrive
At the moment, courier services are currently not available for the Philippine market. The company will make an announcement once it has launched this locally.
For reference, however, this is how the service works elsewhere:
- Couriers can deliver documents, groceries, and other small packages up to 20kg delivered via courier.
- Couriers cannot deliver any alcohol products or illegal/restricited items.
- The maximum weight for car couriers is up to 20kg, while the maximum weight for motorcycle/foot/bicycle couriers is up to 10kg.
- The value of the packages can not exceed $60 (roughly P3,354.00).
To use the courier service, all you have to do is:
- Enter the location where the package must be picked up and delivered.
- Offer a delivery price.
- Describe the delivery details. For example: “Need to deliver food.”
- Enter the receiver’s phone number so the courier can contact them.‘Door-to-Door’ option is also available. Remember to enter the sender and receiver's house, floor, or flat number.
- Contact the rider via the app to confirm the details.
- Track the package in the app. You can see the location of the courier and the box in real-time.
You can also register as a courier via the app. Here’s how:
- Tap the ‘Driver mode’ button in the side menu
- Complete the registration process by following the instructions
It will take 24 hours for your application to be verified. After completing the application, you can contact inDrive to speed up the registration.
What do you think inDrive’s peer-to-peer pricing model versus the normal flagdown rates and Grab pricing schemes? Will you be making use of inDrive in the future as a passenger or driver?
