Ride-hailing platform inDrive is aiming to grow its Philippine driver base by around 30 to 40 percent this year, banking on steady demand, multihoming flexibility, and expansion across key cities.
“We continue growing. As we previously mentioned, we already have 20,000 drivers. We aim to grow 30 percent to 40 percent within the year,” Nikolay Olesov, Head of Driver Operations for Growing Markets APAC, said in an interview with reporters on Thursday.
The platform currently operates in Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Baguio, with the near-term focus on the capital while keeping an eye on future regional expansion.
“We are now focusing mostly on Metro Manila, but in the future we would like to expand,” Olesov added.
Vanessa Taqueban, Driver Operations Lead for the Philippines, noted that both ride volumes and user base are climbing. “We are continuously onboarding, with a multihoming onboarding approach—other driver partners who also like to join,” she said.
The multihoming model, which lets drivers work across multiple platforms, is central to inDrive’s appeal. “We embrace multihoming for our driver partners to earn as much as possible,” Olesov said.
On the payments front, inDrive remains cautious about integrating third-party services that could hurt driver earnings.
“We are a people-driven platform. We try to support the driver community. If we implement such features with additional payment providers which will charge their commission… we will have to increase our commission. If it will increase or make more rides, we will consider it,” Olesov said.
“We are looking to partner with fintech companies that will not result in commission increasing,” he added.
inDrive teamed up with SEAOIL Philippines to launch fuel discounts and perks for its drivers nationwide. The partnership supports inDrive’s new Driver Loyalty Program, which offers daily benefits like rewards and priority cards at SEAOIL stations.