Waze stops carpooling functionality

Alphabet subsidiary Waze is discontinuing its carpooling projects. In the US, Brazil and Israel, the navigation app facilitated car sharing during commuting. According to Waze, the feature is not used enough.

In a message to The Verge Waze explains that before the corona crisis, the app was “mainly a commuter app”, but that since then “more trips have been made than commuting.” Waze is scrapping the carpooling feature, saying: “This means we have the opportunity to find even more impactful ways to bring a global community together to share real-time insights and help each other outsmart traffic. “

The corona crisis has dampened the popularity of the position. Being in the car with strangers has become more risky due to the coronavirus and commuting has also fallen sharply at some point due to the rise of working from home.

In the feature, Waze looked at the routes users take to and from work and connected users who could carpool. Drivers could share two rides per day. It also facilitated cost-sharing for the occupants, but it did not make a profit. The goal here was the same as the entire Waze app: to fight traffic jams.

Image: Waze via 9to5Mac