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Google's Waze to test carpooling program for commuters in Israel

Google is testing a pilot carpooling service called RideWith in Tel Aviv, Israel. Interested commuters can now pay drivers a small fee for gas and wear-and-tear to hitch rides to and from work.
By
July 6, 2015
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Waze, the now Google-owned navigation service, is beginning to make its way into the carpooling business. Through a new application called RideWith, interested commuters in Tel Aviv, Israel will be able to pay drivers a small fee for gas and wear-and-tear to hitch rides to and from work. The app, which uses Waze’s navigation system, will be able to learn the routes which drivers most frequently take to work and pair them up with a commuter looking for a ride in the same direction.

Unlike other popular services like Uber, RideWith drivers won’t be able to earn a salary from this new service. Drivers are limited to just two journeys per day, and at least at the start, will only be paid a small amount to cover gas and other small auto-related expenses. Drivers will also only be able to pick up other people if they’re leaving from their home neighborhoods and heading to work, or the other way around.

Google of course plans to take a cut of the driving cost, but that price has yet to be determined.

Waze told Reuters that there might not be enough drivers to meet commuter demand at the start, but the company remains confident that as more drivers sign up, it will be much easier to hitch a ride to work.