Fare bargain taxi hailing service now in Nairobi

A US-based cab hailing firm that allows riders to bargain with drivers has launched in Kenya, adding to the growing number of digital taxi options available to locals that includes Uber, Taxify and Little.

InDriver is used by 24 million people in more than 200 cities and will see users independently set the price for their trips.

Drivers will, however, choose the most profitable and convenient orders to accept before starting a ride.

“Nearby drivers who receive notice of ride requests have three choices — accept the fare offered, ignore the offer or bargain for a higher price,” said the firm in a statement yesterday.

The firm claims the service, which is also operating in South Africa and Tanzania, has already connected thousands of drivers in Nairobi, even as it eyes registration of new drivers.

At the initial stage after the start, inDriver will not charge drivers any commission.

A unique feature of inDriver is that drivers are not automatically assigned to riders.

Currently, one can pay for the ride only in cash, which allows to further reduce the cost of the trip, as when paying by card, the bank charges an additional commission.