All forms of public transportation generally have one thing in common. The price is set and you have no say in the matter. That's all changing in South Africa with the launch of a new ride-sharing service, inDriver. The Russian taxi app allows its users to set their own fare for a selected route, adding an element of bargaining. CGTN's Sumitra Nydoo reports.

Indriver is quick and simple to use, like Uber or Taxify. The difference here, is that passengers and drivers can decide just how much they want to spend and who they want to drive with.

RIFQA CARR, HEAD OF RECRUITMENT INDRIVER AFRICA "Let's say R40 right, cash, done and you can basically request your vehicle. Okay we are offering our fare to drivers, as you can see on the screen it's basically going to the drivers that are closest or in the vicinity in real time, so lets see even though it's a bit more expensive I'm going to go with Josphet, because I need to get there in a rush, that's one of the life hacks of Indriver, if you're in a rush, you can just sort of add it with increments of R2 or R10, so here's my driver he's accepted my ride, he's happy with R50 and he'll arrive in 3 minutes."

It all started in a small Russian town. With temperatures at minus 45-degrees, many were desperate and drivers saw an opportunity to hike prices. Passengers protested against the high fares. Just months after Indriver launched, more than 60 000 people had joined.

RIFQA CARR, HEAD OF RECRUITMENT INDRIVER AFRICA "The response has been amazing, its incredible, we've actually watched the growth, we launched in Cape Town and now Johannesburg and we've seen how people are gravitating towards the fact that hey I'm getting more value for my money, I'm actually in control."

Indriver has already made its debut in 200 cities across Eastern Europe, Latin America. Arusha, in Tanzania was the first African city to get the app at the end of 2018. Drivers too are seeing the benefits.

JOSPHET MAHLANGU, DRIVER INDRIVER "I was working with the other e-hailing companies and now I'm with Indriver because they are charging less commission and currently we are not being charged any commission. They will charge us after six months. Commission is 5-8 percent, its actually way lower, because you look at the other e-hailing companies, they are charging us 25%."

Indriver may be competition for existing transport services, but it's a new option for travellers wanting a quick and cheap ride. SN, CGTN, JHB, SA.