D espite being one of the top investors in leading ride-sharing service Uber, Google has launched a rival service called Waze Rider. The original Waze app, formerly “Freemap”, is a GPS based geographi- cal navigation application program for smartphones and tablets, which provides turn-by turn information and user-submitted travel times and route details or better known as crowdsourcing to provide navigation and real-time traffic information.
Waze Rider is an extension of this app that helps you find a ride by con- necting you to fellow commuters already using Waze.
You simply enter a destina- tion and the app connects you with a willing Waze user (referred to as a Wazer) heading in the same direction. Once the ride is set, all you have to do is wait for the driver to show up. The cost of the ride is based on the number of miles and right now Google isn’t taking any cut, whichmeans the driver gets the full fee.
The drivers have their own profile with informa- tion that can be verified, and they are ranked with “thanks” received from previous riders. According to Google, many drivers and riders choose to travel together repeatedly, making the service great for carpooling.
Current Waze Rider is only available at select locations at present. However, this is constantly being expanded and with millions already using the original Waze app, there are
potentially huge numbers of drivers out there willing to offer rides.
This is seen by market experts as a way for Google to support their development of a autonomous car, as they may end up using the technology to support rides being offered by driverless cars in the not too distant future. It’s a strategy other leading firms in the ride- sharing world, like Uber and Lyft are also currently working on.
While Uber is handling the autonomous car development on its own, Lyft has partnered with General Motors Company and could have autonomous ride sharing trials operational as early as next year.
Apple recently confirmed it’s invested over a $1 billion in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese Uber rival and is thought to be developing autonomous car technology of its own.
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JUNE 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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