inDriver started operations in Siberia, Russia, when a group of Yakutsk locals made a big decision.
Before that, local drivers had doubled their fare because of the poor weather, which made the Yakutsk locals form a group.
In the “Independent Driver” group, people ordered their cabs, stating their preferred price.
Then available drivers took the orders and made the trip.
As a result, over 60,000 people became a part of the social network.
In 2013, Sinet began to develop a mobile app that was rooted in Real-Time deals.
Real-Time Deals, in other words, means riders are allowed to state their price.
The company then had its first international launch in December 2014 after it expanded into other regions.
Currently, its headquarters is in New York.
The ride-hailing company first came into Africa, Tanzania, in 2018.
Next, it made its way to Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.
Later it entered Nigeria officially in 2018 after it had already begun operations.
Who owns inDriver?
inDriver is a privately owned company founded and headed by Arsen Tomsky.
He founded the company in 2013 and has made it into one of the fastest-growing cab services in the world.
Arsen Tomsky leads the company’s team of over 600 staff.
As of now, inDriver has more than 50 million customers in 31 different countries.
The company is one of the top three ride-hailing services in the world by downloads.
Arsen Tomsky
What is the inDriver app?
The inDriver app is like other ride-hailing apps but with a significant difference.
Riders give drivers the price they want, and they can both reach an agreement.
If the rider isn’t satisfied, he/she can decide to wait till another driver comes.
Once the driver and rider get a fare that suits them, they head to their stop.
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Also, the inDriver app doesn’t allow for card payments.
You either give the driver cash or pay by making a transfer.
This makes the fare cheaper than it is on other services.
How inDriver works
Asides from the major differences on the inDriver app, it’s not so different from other apps.
To order a ride, follow these easy steps:
1. Download the inDriver app if you don’t already have it.
2. Put in your current location.
3. After you’ve put in your area, add your stop in the right field.
4. Next, you’ll need to add your preferred bid.
The app will show three different bids. The first bid is your bid (the rider) and two others.
The other bids allow the driver to make a counter bid. They usually differ by say #200 and #400.
As an example, if your bid is #400, the app may show #600 and #800.
The rider can then make a counter bid by picking #800.
If you aren’t okay with that amount, you can decline. If you are, you accept.
By the time all that is done, the driver would pick you up and take you to your final stop.
It almost sounds like an auction for a ride, you might think. Okay, you didn’t think, we did.
Where does it work?
Amongst the 31 countries inDriver is located in, it also works in Nigeria.
For now, the ridesharing app has only made its way to Lagos.
The company has disclosed that it looks forward to expanding into other states of the federation.
When you might ask, but there’s no answer to that for now.
Where is the inDriver office in Lagos?
For now, inDriver doesn’t have a physical office in Lagos.
It communicates with its drivers from its African support team in Cape Town of South Africa.
There’s no telling when a physical office would open or when the company would enter other states.
It’s competitors have an edge there, so that it might take a bit of planning.
The current pandemic might also be a drag if the company is making such plans.
Best believe that once the story takes an upturn, we’ll give you the updates.
How the company makes money
When inDriver first launched in Nigeria, it didn’t charge drivers any commission.
The company allowed riders to run on a free trial period of six months.
After the trial period, the company charged drivers a commission of 5% to 8% on every ride.
The commission is way lower compared to the likes of Uber that charges up to 25%.
Now, because inDriver doesn’t have a card payment option, how does it make money?
According to the company, drivers will need to pay their commission after the six months trial. If they don’t pay, they won’t be able to access the app.
Interestingly, drivers can make more money from the app, even with the model.
Drivers are at liberty to take rides that are within a favourable price range.
If they aren’t okay with the fare a rider suggests, they can decline. The best part is drivers don’t get penalized for not taking a ride. This helps both driver and rider work with the fares that sit best with them.
How to become an inDriver driver
To become an inDriver driver, there are several boxes you have to tick.
We’ve detailed the requirements below:
1. You have to have a Lagos vehicle license for your car.
2. You should drive with Bolt or Uber with a working profile.
3. Or you should have a Police Character Certificate.
4. Your car should be no later than 2000 or newer.
When you’re ready to sign up, the company will need the following from you:
a. Take a screen munch of your Bolt or Uber profile.
b. If you don’t have any of the profiles, take a photo of your police character certificate.
c. A picture of the front of your driver’s licence.
d. A photo of you with your driver’s licence.
e. Picture of the car from the front.
e. Picture of your Lagos motor licence.
To sign up as a driver, do the following:
1. Download the inDriver app from your app store.
2. Register as a passenger.
3. Tap “driver’s online registration.”
4. Add the necessary files. We have them detailed above.
5. Add the referral code you see.
6. Finally, select “submit.”
7. Wait about an hour, then go online. Once you are able to use the map, it means you’ve been selected. That’s all you need to know about how to be an inDriver driver.
With the likes of Uber and Bolt controlling the market in Nigeria, one can’t be sure how or when inDriver will enter other states.
The more reason will be because drivers aren’t very satisfied with inDriver’s business model.
In a bid to not jump the gun, we can only wait to see how things unfold for inDriver in Nigeria.
What do you think about inDriver? Do you think their business model is good?
Please, tell us in the comments section.
and then
Indr is a great idea but in Panama drivers can only increase fare prices to a max of 1.50
Example riders price 2.00
Drivers options 2.50, 3.00, 3.50
And indr allows it’s riders to suggest such pricing for extremely long trips (30 miles)
Indr drivers are providing far better service then local city taxis but are not being recognized for it financially because cannot rise the fare to a more reasonable amount. The example above is real. And the majority of the rides are that that’s why it’s so much cheaper to go with indr. The driver do not have the ability to rise the fare to more realistic price
The app is annoying for drivers, as a driver it takes other activities away from you, you have to hold the phone and be checking a request to pick from the pool, and even when you pick a request it’s already taken.even when a request comes by prompt it’s already taken also.
Even with the lowest price option selected You have to hold your phone and keep trying to pick an order sometimes for many hours ..who has all that time.???
Secondly no destination trips
It is particularly helpful in this pandemic period where other ride applications stop working from midnight.