inDrive makes inroads into ride-hailing market

MANILA, Philippines — One of the largest taxi apps in the world plans to enter the Philippines within the year, potentially disrupting the ride-hailing market with a promise of higher income for drivers and low fares for passengers.

In an interview with reporters, inDrive CEO and founder Arsen Tomsky said his firm has applied for a license to operate as a transport network vehicle service (TNVS).

If everything goes as planned, inDrive – the second largest ride-hailing app in the world based on downloads – should get its permit to serve the Philippine market on or before September.

As such, Tomsky said the platform can start serving Filipino passengers toward the end of 2023 and challenge the dominance of Grab Philippines over the ride-hailing market in the country.

Tomsky said inDrive can deliver on affordable fares compared to existing players in the Philippines. He also guaranteed that drivers would enjoy working for inDrive, as it charges a commission of just 10 percent for every trip.

Grab collects a maximum share of 20 percent for each booking, while other mobility apps take a commission of up to 60 percent for every trip.

Tomsky said inDrive can afford to charge low commissions given its business model of investing less on marketing campaigns and relying solely on word of mouth.

Likewise, Tomsky said inDrive never pays its drivers any form of incentives that other platforms give out on a performance basis, believing that it is better to provide higher earnings than to issue output-based perks.

Similarly, inDrive tries to keep expenses low by minimizing the number of employees in its back offices. For one, the firm refrains from handing out discount vouchers to passengers in exchange for its commitment on affordable pricing.

inDrive submitted its application for a TNVS license to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in January after conducting soft launches in three cities, including in Bacolod. Tomsky said the trial runs turned out positive that he decided to expand here.

inDrive offers its mobility services in at least 47 countries across the world, including Southeast Asia’s Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.