InDrive’s poor navigational system lamented

Drivers for the ride-hailing service InDrive are expressing growing frustration over what they describe as a poor navigational system within the company’s application, claiming it is significantly cutting into their earnings due to incorrect routing.

“Eugene,” a 57-year-old InDrive driver from Tondo, Manila, described in an interview Friday how the navigation has consistently led them astray in recent months.

“Many of us are complaining because it always takes us on longer routes. It’s a waste of gasoline,” Eugene said. “Sometimes I took someone to España, and we ended up in Malanday, Marikina. We even had to pay Skyway tolls just for my passenger to get to their destination.”

According to Google, InDrive’s in-app navigation is powered by Google Maps Platform, which includes features like route planning, real-time traffic updates, and precise location tracking.

Eugene, who rents his vehicle and pays a daily “boundary” of P1,300, lamented that the prolonged and incorrect routes often cause significant delays in reaching passenger pickup points.

“With this, most of our customers are canceling their requests. If we cancel it, we automatically lose 15 percent of the ride, which is a waste,” the driver said. “I hope they fix the problem; our income is decreasing because of their unreliable navigational system.”

In contrast, competitor Grab Philippines utilizes its proprietary navigation tool, GrabMaps, which became the primary navigation tool for its app in 2022 after being developed for internal use in 2017.