Google gets into car sharing

By Digital News Asia May 19, 2016

Waze Carpool launches in San Francisco
Aims to reduce number of cars and costs

There is new competition for Uber – from Google. The company is launching Waze Carpool, a service designed to get multiple commuters paying for trips together.

Google bought Waze in 2013 for a paltry US $1.3 billion. But it will use a separate app to connect people travelling in the same direction. The service has the goals of reducing the number of cars on the road and cutting commuting costs. So it is not a direct threat to Uber – yet.

Currently, Waze Carpool is an invitation-only service for companies and commuters in the San Francisco Bay area. It currently limits the number of rides drivers can offer in any one day and does not allow journeys that involve multiple stops.

Pricing is also different from Uber. Waze Carpool covers only the cost of the journeys, including fuel and minimal wear and tear. But Google itself is not taking a slice of the revenue – at least so far.

You can see more in the video below.