back to article Waze to go, Google: New dial-a-ride Uber, Lyft rival 'won't vet drivers'... What could go wrong?

Google is apparently planning to launch a ride-sharing service to compete with Uber and Lyft. The Wall Street Journal cites a single source in reporting that the Mountain View advertisement broker will expand a small pilot program launched this summer in which the Waze navigational app can be used by people to organize car …

  1. joed

    I'm not into social apps but if all that Waze did was to help coordinate matching carpoolers profiles (at interested users' consent) it'll be of some value

    1. Youngone Silver badge

      That's what it sounds like to me, just matching people in the same area who travel the same way at the same time.

      I'm not sure why Google would need to vet anyone in that case.

      1. DavCrav

        "I'm not sure why Google would need to vet anyone in that case."

        Because it would be trivia for miscreants to offer a lift from one place to somewhere a fair distance away, then mug the person on the side of the motorway? And then Google somehow claims that they bear no responsibility at all for this? At least in the UK, that sort of bullshit doesn't stand up in court.

  2. Jan 0 Silver badge

    What a shame.

    Yet another Not Invented Here tragedy. Why can't all those Google Geeks innovate? This is just copying Liftshare.

    Besides, instead of cludging this into Waze, their efforts would be better spent on getting Waze to work reliably. For example, why doesn't Waze know about roadworks, road closures and diversions? It's all available via the WWW where I live. Why doesn't Waze incorporate Google's live traffic data to give better predictions of journey times instead of relying on the tiny proportion of drivers sending updates to Waze? Oh, and how about actually recording the routes that real cars take, to avoid silly mistakes like trying to send cars the wrong way at side entrances to dual carriage ways? There's plenty more examples, but I'm getting a long way from the Liftshare hijack.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What a shame.

      Why doesn't Waze incorporate Google's live traffic data to give better predictions of journey times instead of relying on the tiny proportion of drivers sending updates to Waze?

      Because it could give Google an idea for a new service and so take over their business?

      It's as if investors wait for a generation to retire before they simply try the same tricks again. This is the sort of con job that Microsoft used to do: if someone came up with a good innovation, Microsoft would either buy it, "collaborate" until it had all the details and then make its own alternative and claim it had been working on something similar all along or simply bring out an alternative at no cost (Netscape). Google appears to be doing just the same, which will eventually have the same consequences for innovation as Microsoft had then: it stifles it.

      The only thing Google does a lot better than Microsoft is intelligence gathering: after all, most tech startups naively use Gmail without reading the conditions first..

      1. fandom

        Re: What a shame.

        Except that Google already bought Waze about three years ago.

        1. JetSetJim
          Headmaster

          Re: What a shame.

          ...And google maps even update with Waze updates, on occasion - e.g. an accident will have a little "reported by Waze user" note attached to the icon when tapped on. Doesn't seem to happen to everything - but maybe when there's some official notification the Waze tag is disappeared.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: What a shame.

          Except that Google already bought Waze about three years ago

          That'll teach me to post before coffee - thanks :).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What a shame.

      I'm confused - I use Waze on a daily basis for commuting purposes and it does all of this.

      It notifies me if I'm heading towards congestion and either tries to route around it, or if I'm in it, it tells me the average speed and the estimated length of time I'll be stuck in it.

      It routes around closures and diversions and often notifies me at least 25 miles in advance.

      It's my experience that Waze and it's crowdsourced live traffic data is frequently more accurate than Google Maps - Maps will often predict a 1hr 40 commute, Waze around 1hr 12 and Waze is usually accurate to within a couple of minutes. This is strange seeing that Google own both, but I've had a very positive experience with Waze to date.

    3. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: What a shame.

      I had not heard of Liftshare, so I (ahem) Googled them, and the response came back regarding "Liftshare, the UK's biggest sharing economy site." Can you see where there might be a market opportunity for a similar service elsewhere?

      Also, I believe these very pages have thoroughly excoriated the "sharing economy," so clearly Liftshare is just another symptom of the cancer infesting the heart of robust capitalism.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Customer review based?

    OK I guess, if you survive the journey with Mr X.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Guess they are trying to claim ignorance

    If they make no attempt to vet anyone, they think they can't be held liable when something goes wrong. Can't say I totally disagree with that logic, but that's not how the real world will work the first time someone is raped or murdered by one of these drivers...

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Guess they are trying to claim ignorance

      That wouldn't let them out of liability, which is determined by the law and the courts, and not companies.

      But let's not jump to conclusions. Best way to see what is actually on offer and as to whether they have any agency function. If this is just a service for carpoolers then they may be fine.

      In any case, I thought Google/Alphabet had put money into Uber. They're unlikely to fund a rival before cashing out.

      1. Known Hero
        Stop

        Re: Guess they are trying to claim ignorance

        Could vet people by their browsing history .... you all ok with that ?

        This dude has as solid job, doesnt have a purchase history of rope and mace, probably ok to ride with.

        This other guy, watches S&M better not let anybody ride with him .....

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Unlikely to fund a rival before cashing out

        Why not hedge your bets by funding multiple companies doing the same thing, to increase the chances you pick the winner? Google (and Intel, Microsoft etc. who similarly invest in startups) aren't doing it to make money, they're doing it build relationships with them for the future.

  5. C0p3n

    "Google doesn't plan to vet drivers for a Waze service, instead relying on user reviews" to rate drivers.

    Hard to write that review when you're rolled up in a carpet at the bottom of a lake.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I thought that

      the Court systems were used to retrospectively vet drivers.

  6. Dan 55 Silver badge

    It's like the Play Store of carsharing

    And we've never heard of getting served malware through the Play Store, have we?

    Nice for hipster DevOppers to share rides to Mountain View, doesn't scale well in the real world.

  7. wolfetone Silver badge

    You know, I just read the article and I could just hear the rapists, woman beaters and child molesters rubbing their hands with glee at this.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
      Pint

      Then can I suggest you drink less coffee in the morning?

      Contrary to what the tabloids would have us believe, there is not an army of rapists and child molesters desperate for opportunities to prey upon the innocent. If there is an army at all, then it is the one of organised crime and it won't want to get involved in anything that is traceable, but theft is probably the biggest risk.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge

        Right, because those sorts of people don't put themselves in situations where they are enabled to perpetrate these crimes/their desires?

        All those Preists and Teachers must have just mistakenly molested the children in their care for decades then.

        I won't go in to the elephant in the room regarding a certain youth charity in the UK who has a problem with men such as described above preying on the young and getting themselves in to situations where they can do their worst. And I know this happens, I sat in on the child protection meeting.

        1. Known Hero
          Meh

          @wolfestone

          Nobody said it never happened or doesn't exist, but point out a very valid statement that a very large proportion of the population with a stranger in their car, their first choice is not to drug rape and murder them.

          An why the fuck would kids be using this ???

          1. wolfetone Silver badge

            "Nobody said it never happened or doesn't exist, but point out a very valid statement that a very large proportion of the population with a stranger in their car, their first choice is not to drug rape and murder them."

            I know what was said, but it's irresponsible to think it won't happen. If they're not vetted then it allows it to happen, the chance of it occuring is increased because it's an easier route for them to get themselves in to that sort of situation.

            "An why the fuck would kids be using this ???"

            The yoof are lazy. If they can get an app, get a taxi and go home without waiting for a bus don't you think they're going to use it?

            1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

              I know what was said, but it's irresponsible to think it won't happen. If they're not vetted then it allows it to happen, the chance of it occuring is increased because it's an easier route for them to get themselves in to that sort of situation.

              I'm not that familiar with the pathology of sexual perverts but I don't think that is how the majority of them operate.

              Sure, for some, opportunity will be everything, but for many preparing, grooming and stalking the prey are part of the deal. And there are plenty of opportunities for them do this without them being logged while doing so.

              Personally, I'm against all these unlicensed OTT services. Higher yields can be achieved within the current frameworks which include compulsory vetting of drivers and some kind of minimum wage.

              But for me, knowing that you were travelling somewhere would useful if I was planning to rob your place. As I say, the tabloids are conditioning to suspect the wrong people of committing the wrong crime. We're encouraged to believe that world is full of violent perverts and terrorists whereas violent crime is in decline and road traffic accidents are the real killers.

              For fun we could apply Terry Pratchett's actuarial approach to crime to things like big business' tax avoidance schemes: how many people died in Ireland as a result of underfunded services because Apple, et al. didn't pay the going rate.

              1. DavCrav

                "For fun we could apply Terry Pratchett's actuarial approach to crime to things like big business' tax avoidance schemes: how many people died in Ireland as a result of underfunded services because Apple, et al. didn't pay the going rate."

                None. However, people will have died in other European countries that were fiddled out of their taxes by dodgy Irish tax law and dodgier backroom deals.

  8. Gene Cash Silver badge
    Go

    Uber saved my ass last weekend

    I needed to get from Orlando to Sarasota, which is about 150 miles. None of the local taxis (Mears, Diamond, Yellow, 10/10) would take me, and they quoted $320-$450 for the non-service. There's no bus, so the alternative was walking.

    Uber cost $115, and the guy was a better driver than I am. (which isn't saying much, but...)

    So they are filling a need that the local boys won't provide. That's why these sorts of things are popping up. Obviously the pilot program seemed successful.

    I did notice one of the local taxi companies is now called "Uver" and you can't tell me that isn't just the wee bit shady.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
      Stop

      Re: Uber saved my ass last weekend

      150 miles for $115? What's that about 2.5 hours each way, 5 hours in total. So just over $ 20 an hour including gas, maintenance, health insurance and pension provision? And you really think that this is a market.

      There's a reason why taxi drivers are primarily immigrants: they're very poorly paid.

      1. DavCrav

        Re: Uber saved my ass last weekend

        "There's a reason why taxi drivers are primarily immigrants: they're very poorly paid."

        They might be poorly paid, but driving a taxi, especially long-distance driving like this, where you don't have to know lots of shortcuts and detailed maps, is one of the least skilled jobs out there, simply requiring a driving licence, which the vast majority of the population have. You would expect it to pay at the extreme lower end of payscales.

  9. tiggity Silver badge

    vetting bot needed on similar sites

    Back when my commute was by car (instead of train) I offered car share on relevant websites (as useful to have other(s) on the commute instead of extra car(s) on the road, and the ethos of the various lift sharing websites is not to make a profit (any passengers just cover a bit of fuel costs essentially) - as has been said, these lift share sites have existed for ages so nothing new from Google here.

    There was no vetting of me done on those lift share sites so don't see why the Waze car share option should be any different.

    Main person at risk on lift share is the driver offering lifts IMHO .. not directly at risk but essentially you are posting where / when you travel from home to work and back, useful info for potential burglars.

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