A profile of inDriver, a ride-hailing app developed in Siberia in 2012, which lets riders and drivers haggle over prices and is now available in 42 countries
InDriver's unique haggling feature has seen it expand from its roots in Yakutia to markets around the world. — • YAKUTSK, RUSSIA Tweets: @restofworld , @leomschwartz , @restofworld , @indriver , @vickiturk , @restofworld , @restofworld , and @vickiturk Tweets: @restofworld : Bonus material: we couldn't figure out how to work this incredible photo of horses into our new story about the Siberian taxi startup inDriver (https://restofworld.org/...), so we're sharing it here https://twitter.com/... Leo Schwartz / @leomschwartz : I contributed reporting from Mexico to this fantastic feature from @leonidragozin about InDriver, a Siberian rideshare company originally designed to survive its frozen tundra that has spread across the globe. For @restofworld: https://restofworld.org/... @restofworld : inDriver is like Uber, but for everywhere else. Conceived on the ice roads of Siberia, it's now in 42 countries, from Brazil to Botswana https://restofworld.org/... @indriver : First-time passengers immediately react to the fact that it is them who are offering the price. It immediately creates a Wow effect, Prokopy Fedorov at InDriver sounds off on our signature feature. Learn more about our story on @restofworld https://restofworld.org/... Vicki Turk / @vickiturk : Finding a ride in remote Siberia is a whole different challenge. Excellent feature from @leonidragozin, who went on the (ice) road with inDriver, a global ridesharing company founded in the coldest place on Earth. https://restofworld.org/... https://twitter.com/... @restofworld : inDriver is officially based in the US, and it is helping employees leave Russia. “For many years, I've been trying to create jobs in my native Yakutsk and support the local economy, but this is now impossible,” says CEO Arsen Tomsky Read the full story https://restofworld.org/... @restofworld : “I should unequivocally state that I don't support this war, it is evil,” said inDriver CEO Arsen Tomsky. He added that, “for many years, I've been trying to create jobs in my native Yakutsk and support the local economy, but this is now impossible.” https://restofworld.org/... Vicki Turk / @vickiturk : Sometimes a story changes mid-reporting. For this feature, @leonidragozin went to Siberia to meet inDriver, the ‘Uber for the rest of the world’. The company was proud of its local roots - but then the news broke that Russia had invaded Ukraine https://restofworld.org/...
Context & Ripple Effects
inDriver started in 2012 in Yakutsk, Siberia, where the Rest of World profile traces its defining mechanic: instead of an algorithm setting the fare, riders post a price and drivers counter-offer until both sides agree. That negotiation-first design carried the company from one of the coldest cities on earth into 42 countries, with official incorporation in the United States and CEO Arsen Tomsky publicly distancing the company from Russia while helping employees leave.
The model stopped being a curiosity once it showed up in incumbents' earnings geography: later reporting details Uber discontinuing service in five Pakistani cities amid cost cuts and rising competition from inDrive, making the Siberian upstart one of the few players actually taking share from Uber outside the US.
First-order effects
- Riders and drivers in inDriver's 42 markets gain direct control over fares that platforms like Uber set unilaterally, shifting who bears pricing risk on every trip.
- Uber faces a competitor whose cost structure and product are built around negotiated prices, forcing it to defend city-by-city positions in emerging markets rather than treat them as loss-leading experiments.
Second-order effects
- Uber's pullback from five Pakistani cities hands inDrive local network density at low acquisition cost, since drivers migrating off a shrinking platform arrive already trained on ride-hailing economics.
- Incumbents' response is visible in their home market too: Uber's app revamp that grew its US share against Lyft shows the company doubling down on driver supply where it is strong, effectively ceding haggle-friendly markets to challengers.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, global ride-hailing splits into two pricing regimes — algorithmic fixed fares in dense Western markets versus negotiated fares in price-sensitive ones — with each regime favoring different platform architectures and unit economics.
- A Siberian-born company operating across 42 countries under US incorporation also previews how geopolitics reshapes corporate identity: founders decoupling headcount and reputation from their country of origin while keeping the market footprint.
The trend: Ride-hailing is diverging into fixed-algorithmic pricing in developed markets and rider-driver negotiation in emerging ones, with inDrive's expansion showing the second model can take cities outright.