Features
4 Jan 23

Fairness through peer-to-peer pricing for ride-hailing in Ghana

Global mobility and urban services platform inDrive has set up shop in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. 

inDrive’s ride hailing app gives passengers and drivers the freedom to negotiate the terms of their interaction (price, route and other factors) before accepting the ride. Once agreed, these conditions are final and the fare cannot be changed by unfair pricing algorithms based on weather conditions or traffic congestion. 

Fairness for all

The company began as an exercise in justice (it states on its website) to make it more difficult for certain taxi drivers to “fleece” passengers. In the Northern Russian city of Yakutsk, for example, taxi drivers often doubled fares when the temperature dropped, which it does often in Siberia. 

Headquartered in Mountain View, California and employing 2,400 people worldwide, inDrive says it challenges many injustices that characterise mobility needs such as pricing algorithms, oppressive working conditions placed on drivers by employers and companies, and price manipulation. inDrive is available in more than 700 cities in 47 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia. The app has been downloaded over 150 million times, making it the second most downloaded mobility app in the world (second to Uber). 

Negotiating price before the ride

Unlike other mobility apps, inDrive works by enabling registered passengers to input pick up and drop off points and a guide price for the trip. Available drivers can then select the request or counter offer, based on passenger rating and reviews. Both parties are able to negotiate and accept offers through the app. 

inDrive has said it will not charge a service fee during the early stage of the Accra launch, which means drivers in the city can potentially earn even better fares. 

As well as the ride-hailing app, inDrive offers other services including intercity transport, freight and cargo services and delivery operations. 

Image: Shutterstock

Authored by: Alison Pittaway