Google is not a company that likes to lag behind as far as new tech is concerned and according to latest reports, the company are now going to enter the ride sharing business by revamping the app Waze, which they bought in 2013. The news first surfaced in the Wall Street Journal which seemed to suggest that the company was about to go head to head with market leader Uber but it seems that would not be the case, for now.
An analysis of the development was done in a report by Recode. The report stated, "Waze, the crowdsourced mapping and navigation app that Google acquired in 2013, is expanding its ride-sharing pilot in San Francisco, according to the WSJ report. The service lets drivers pick up passengers who are traveling in the same direction, or are headed to a similar destination, in exchange for payment. When Waze launched its U.S. pilot in May, it was only available to 25,000 employees of select companies. Now, all Waze users in San Francisco will have access to the service, which Waze has offered in its home market Israel since July 2015. So, does this mean Google is taking on Uber with this expanded pilot? Not really."
The report went on to add, "Waze's program is less about making a commercial driver out of every casual driver and more about helping drivers offset the costs of car ownership or gas. It's why it made the most sense for the company to start the pilot with specific companies - so that employees who worked together could carpool.
More simply: In the Waze program, drivers are being paid for gas and their time. Many Uber and Lyft drivers, on the other hand, depend on their wages to make a living.
While there may be some overlap, the user base is largely different. That goes for riders as well. Waze's service is designed to be cheaper, but there's not always going to be someone who is either going your way or is willing to take the time to pick you up and drop you off. It's not the always-there, on-demand service Uber is spending billions to perfect."
