Google Quietly Expands Ride-Sharing Service
September 29 2016 - 05:00PM
Dow Jones News
Alphabet Inc.'s Google has quietly opened its Waze ride-sharing
service to San Francisco-area users, expanding a pilot program and
confirming the company's interest in the lucrative ride-hailing
industry.
Smartphone users in the San Francisco area now can download a
mobile app called Waze Rider to request rides to and from work from
drivers using Google's popular Waze navigation app. Google in May
launched a test of the carpool service for workers at several area
employers, but the service has been gradually rolling out to San
Francisco-area users for several weeks, Google confirmed
Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal reported Google's ride-sharing plans in
August.
The Waze service puts Google in more direct competition with
ride-hailing incumbents Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. But
there are differences. Uber and Lyft drivers largely operate as
taxi drivers, while Google wants the Waze service to match riders
and drivers already headed in the same direction.
For now, Google is limiting drivers and riders to two rides a
day—intended to be to and from work—and made it cheap, restricting
drivers from making a living on the app. Such measures also could
be designed to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
A Journal reporter took a Waze Rider trip Wednesday night from
San Francisco's financial district to Oakland. The service had some
bugs: the app didn't display to the rider where the driver's car
was before pickup and the driver couldn't use Waze's navigation
service during the ride. But overall it went smoothly.
Google paid the driver, local bar manager Mae Coates, $6.30 for
the roughly 20-minute ride and charged the rider just $3, a
discount as part of a promotion for the service's launch. The same
ride outside of rush hour would cost $23 to $30 on Uber or Lyft,
according to the companies' apps. A subway ride that distance costs
$3.45.
Ms. Coates said she signed up to be a driver because it was
"hassle-free." She told Waze her general schedule and her home and
work addresses, but she didn't have to provide proof of insurance,
send a photo of her car or pass a background check. A Google
spokeswoman said the company doesn't plan to require such
information because it is simply a platform to connect drivers and
riders headed in the same direction.
Ms. Coates said the Wednesday trip was her first with Waze but
she likely would do it again because it is an easy way to earn a
few extra dollars on her commute home, she said. She doesn't drive
for Uber or Lyft because she has a full-time job.
"I think it'll catch on," she said. "It's cheap and it's
easy."
Write to Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 29, 2016 16:45 ET (20:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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