Over the last decade, ride-hailing helped millions step beyond public transport, offering flexibility in cities shaped by rapid population growth and uneven infrastructure. As more people enter the workforce and households increasingly rely on dual incomes, time pressure is becoming just as important as affordability.
In 2026, mobility platforms are no longer judged solely by the number of completed rides, but by how deeply they integrate into everyday life. This is the context in which inDrive, an international company specialised in ride-hailing, delivery, cargo transportation, and urban services, is shaping its plans for the year ahead.
Earlier this week, Tech Funding News sat down with Andries Smit, Chief Growth Businesses Officer at inDrive, where new research from Oxford Economics on in-app fare negotiation was presented. Here are some key findings!
Ride-hailing demand continues to grow
Despite ongoing debate about saturation in global mobility markets, ride-hailing demand is expected to continue rising through 2026, particularly in emerging economies.
“Now in those emerging markets, we are seeing some really exciting trends. We’re seeing population growth, economic growth, young generations excited for getting access to the market, starting to work, being productive, and that is also where we come into play,” says Smith to TFN.
As incomes rise and households become more mobile, ride-hailing increasingly fills the gap between public transport and private car ownership. “We help empower a new generation, and especially a cost-conscious consumer, some users, drivers, passengers that might not had access to mobility in the past,” he adds.
From inDrive’s perspective, the main constraint on growth is not demand but supply. “The theory, for me, though, is that we have a very strong thesis that demand will continue to increase, and secondly, that in mobility, the constraint is supply. Even at inDrive. If we had and could generate more drivers faster, we would grow even faster,” Smit explains.
“I still think there is a huge market, a lot of opportunity, and structurally, should be able to be quite lucrative for drivers for a good few years,” he adds.
Why grocery delivery fits the model
One of the most notable shifts in inDrive’s roadmap is its move into grocery delivery. The decision is rooted less in diversification for its own sake and more in how users already interact with the app.
“With ride-hailing, there is always intent. You don’t open our application just to browse or explore. You open it because you’ve got something in mind. You need a move, and you have a certain use case that you want to fulfil,” Smit says.
That intent creates moments of sustained engagement. “When they’re raising a trip, but also when you’re waiting for your vehicle, this could be 5–7 minutes; when you’re inside the vehicle, it could be 20–21 minutes — that’s a really highly engaged user,” he notes.
In emerging markets, where people frequently check their phones and juggle multiple daily responsibilities, this creates an opportunity to address other needs. “We also know that some of the other daily essentials that those families need, the cost-conscious consumer needs to put food on the table. They need to order groceries.”
The idea is straightforward: if someone is already using the platform to save time getting around, helping them pick up essentials makes sense and feels like a logical next step, rather than just a random add-on.
Fair pricing and market balance
At the heart of inDrive’s approach is its negotiation-based pricing model, which allows riders and drivers to agree on fares directly. A new study by Oxford Economics, based on surveys of riders and drivers across seven emerging markets, including Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and Peru, suggests this model can unlock additional rides and reduce inefficiencies in on-demand mobility.
According to the research, around 75% of inDrive trips across these markets involved negotiated fares, rising to about 80% in parts of Latin America and the Middle East. In Latin America, nearly two-thirds (64%) of both riders and drivers said they complete more trips because they can negotiate fares.
“The dynamics, marketplace dynamics, are never global, or never equal. The market is hard to say. I mean, this will be very, very specific to a specific city, even sometimes to a specific suburb,” says Smit.
Oxford Economics frames this shift as part of a broader evolution in ride-hailing, from pure automation towards human–algorithm collaboration: algorithms provide an initial fare estimate, but riders and drivers can adjust it to reflect real-world conditions.
How AI fits into mobility
Artificial intelligence is already part of inDrive’s operations, though Smit is cautious about overstating its near-term impact on the user interface. “Routing, map optimisation, and estimating times of arrival have seen nearly a decade of AI innovations. While we didn’t label it as such and it wasn’t in fashion due to the LLM trend, these innovations were definitely present,” he says.
AI will continue to drive efficiency behind the scenes, particularly in reducing operational costs and improving matching.
“When you know exactly what you want, this simple method of filling in details is usually the quickest. Take mobility, for example, you only need to enter a few things: your address, your destination, and the price, and that’s all. It’s hard to find a faster process than that,” he adds.
What’s next for InDrive?
InDrive’s plans for 2026 show a changing approach to mobility platforms in emerging markets. inDrive is currently operating in 48 countries.
There is also growing demand for ride-hailing services, and grocery delivery is emerging as a natural extension of the need to save time. AI is being used primarily to improve efficiency behind the scenes, while in-app fare negotiation gives riders and drivers more say over prices and helps bring more rides onto the road.
