Google is launching a pilot program in Israel through their Waze app, which they acquired back around 2013, the program and app is called RideWith. It’s essentially a carpooling app that would allow drivers and those in need of a ride to meet up. RideWith will use the Waze data to map out participants daily routes and find out where and how they travel.Right now it sounds like the app is going to be limited to Android phone users we’re assuming only until the pilot program is over.
They way it would work is. Users who require a ride will input their location, destination and the time of day they want to travel. That data will be sent to any driver who matches that route and time and the driver can choose to accept the fare or decline. If they accept the user will get confirmation and then be able to see the driver’s route in real time.
According to Israeli Haaretz, Google will publish a recommended price according to the distance of the shared ride, but it will also set a maximum price. The price for a ride from Tel Aviv to Herzliya will be 13 shekels ($3.46). Transfer of the money from the passenger to the driver will be done by means of the application. Google is expected to take a fee of 15 percent from the price of the ride and this in effect is the new income model for Waze.
With Uber dropping Google Maps and acquiring Microsoft’s Bing Maps technology this could mean stiff competition for them. We really won’t know until this pilot program has a chance to be tested but this could very well mean Google will get into the same market as Uber in the US.
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[button link=”http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2015/07/06/google-gets-into-the-carpooling-business-with-the-launch-of-ridewith-in-israel/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Jewish Business News[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
