Google is about to take on Uber on the ride-sharing business, but people are not going to make a living out of it.
Google’s Waze app has received a commuting function this May, and the Mountain View giant is preparing to allow its use for all users in San Francisco.
The app is called Waze Riders, and it lets users select a starting point, a destination, and a preferred travel time, and then they would be notified if someone had a free seat available in his or her vehicle.
Unlike Uber and Lyft, a user only gets to ride in a stranger’s car two times in one day, and the same rule applies to the driver. Google’s service is currently undergoing a pilot program, which has a maximum charge of 54 cents per mile (1.6 kilometers).
It will be cheaper than Uber and Lyft on any day, but nobody will have to become an impromptu cab driver to pay his or her bills, as the limit of trips available in a day would make it impossible to profit from this undertaking. However, do not let this limit make you believe that Uber and Lyft’s business in the city of San Francisco is not vulnerable to the move.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, the service is significantly cheaper than both alternatives, and it is imagined for passengers (and drivers) that share a destination and route. The move could affect Uber or Lyft by taking customers away from them in the morning and the evening.
Evidently, other timeframes might be affected, but the system is mostly created for those that work during the day, and most commuters have a schedule like this. Google does not charge a fee for the use of the service at the moment.
Most likely, the company can afford to skip the potential profit from this deal for new, as long as it ca attract as many users as possible, a major factor in testing the program.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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