As of September, the company will cease offering its carpooling service in the US, Brazil, and Israel. The company said it would look for other ways to serve its 150 million customers worldwide.
“While Waze was predominantly a commuting app pre-COVID, today the proportion of errands and travel drives has surpassed commutes,” the company said in a statement provided to The Verge. “This means we have an opportunity to find even more impactful ways to bring together a global community to share real-time insights and help each other outsmart traffic — this is what has always made Waze truly special.”
In 2016, Waze Carpool was launched in the Bay Area and has since expanded to all 50 states in the US, Brazil, and Waze’s home country, Israel. Nonprofessional drivers can offer rides on similar routes for a nominal fee through this service. This is in contrast to Uber and Lyft carpooling services. A standalone carpool app was launched by the company in 2018.
The original intent was to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road by encouraging more people to share rides. According to Waze, its “superior routing technology” helps commuters fill empty seats in their cars and, as a result, reduce traffic congestion.
Commuters primarily used Waze’s Carpool app, but companies could use the service as an alternative transportation option for their employees as well. Drivers who picked up passengers on their way to work would receive reimbursement (up to 54 cents per mile). Most carpool drivers saw it as a way to save money on gas rather than as a way to make extra money.
Over the last few decades, carpooling has declined. Around 20 percent of Americans shared rides to work during the 1970 gas crisis; now that number is around 9 percent. Uber and Lyft have had varying degrees of success in getting their customers to share rides.
In contrast, COVID basically stopped carpooling in its tracks if it was regaining some modest momentum. When the pandemic began, Uber and Lyft stopped offering carpooling services.As fare prices rise, carpooling is returning as case numbers decline and vaccines become more widely available.
Waze relied on people commuting to the office every day to provide its service, but this has fundamentally changed since the pandemic. In a recent survey, 35 percent of respondents said they could work from home full time while 23 percent can work from home one to four days per week.
According to Waze, the company will continue to work with cities to solve their mobility challenges. “We are proud of what we accomplished through Waze Carpool, and are grateful to the Carpool community for sharing drives and working together to take cars off the road,” the company added.
