Waze Carpool is Now Available Nationwide

Originally launched in the Bay Area in 2016, to later expand to five additional states in the US as well as Waze’s country of origin, Israel, Waze Carpool is now available nationwide.

The Google-owned company looks to “reverse the negative trends in traffic” by using its platform, data, and ‘unique ability’ to connect everyone sharing the road for sharing their empty car seats. Waze Carpool matches people who are going in the same direction, while allowing people to choose their carpool buddies based on detailed profiles, star ratings, and filters like same-gender & coworkers only.

To use the service, riders are charged a maximum rate of 54 cents per mile, which is the current IRS reimbursement rate for business travel by car. Waze Carpool isn’t meant for making a profit, but to reimburse drivers for gas and other costs, and both drivers and riders are limited to two rides per day.

When it comes to insurance, Waze Carpool makes an interesting case: “Auto insurance policies in many states, including California, typically allow not-for-profit, share-the-expense carpooling. Waze Carpool is designed to help riders and drivers share the cost of carpooling on a given ride. It’s not designed to allow a driver to make a profit or to earn a salary. Payments to the driver by the rider will always be less or equal to the cost of the particular drive, taking account of such factors as gas and vehicle depreciation.”

Bottom Line: Helped Catalent set up a carpool program which increased the number of employees carpooling from 10% to 30%.