Google planning to enter the ride-sharing business with Waze carpool service

Google started testing a Waze based carpooling service in San Francisco back in May, partnering with companies in the Bay Area whose employees were asked to install a free app called Waze Rider. These users could then share a ride with other drivers heading in the same direction during their daily commute.

The drives would be paid the IRS average of 54 cents a mile to pay for gas and cover the additional wear on their vehicle. Google at the start did not get a cut of these profits for themselves.

Google is ready to expand the test to all San Francisco Waze users this fall, with the goal of making it a competitor to Uber and Lyft. However unlike its competitors, Waze drivers will be limited to taking riders to locations near the drivers' daily commute.

The San Francisco test of the carpool service allows users to take no more than two rides a day, to and from work. While any Waze user in the area can be a driver, only the 25,000 employees of the companies that Waze partners with are allowed to arrange for a ride.

With the expansion of the test, any Waze user in the Bay Area will be able to participate by being a driver or a rider. A driver will only be terminated from using the service based on the reviews they receive.

source - WSJ