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TECHNOLOGY Friday 2 June 2017
Google expands paid carpooling across California

MICHAEL LIEDTKE ested drivers and riders a and their travel habits. That
AP Technology Writer chance to sign up for the could be useful to Google
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) program. for a variety of purposes,
— Google is expanding Since signing up for Waze’s including targeted adver-
its paid carpool service carpooling service in Feb- tising and planning poten-
throughout California, ruary, Lesley Watson says tial future transport servic-
building on an effort to get she gets paid $3.50 to $5.50 es, including any involving
more traffic-weary drivers every time she gives some- the self-driving cars one of
to share their rides to work one a ride on her morning its spinoffs, Waymo, is cur-
— and to collect data that commute from her home rently testing.
could be useful for future in Oakland to her job at an CARPOOLING AS BUSINESS
transportation services. advertising agency in San While carpooling has been
The Wednesday move by Francisco. Sometimes, she around for decades, it’s
Google’s Waze unit, best also picks up a passenger never been particularly
known for its navigation on her evening commute popular.
and traffic monitoring app, home, although she usu- “People don’t want to get
extends the year-old car- ally drives solo on her return tied to something that re-
pooling service outside its trip. quires them to ride with the
initial markets of northern “It has helped me offset same people and be in a
California and Israel. Waze my commute costs for gas, certain place at a certain
will now be pairing up driv- tolls and parking,” Watson, time,” said Sharon Feigon,
ers and passengers across 28, says. It also has given executive director for the
a wider expanse that in- her a chance to make new Shared-Use Mobility Cen-
cludes heavily congested friends among the five or six ter.
highways in Los Angeles people she regularly picks Using technology to match
and other parts of southern up through the Waze app. drivers and passengers on
California. WAZE VS. UBER days they want to partici-
HOW IT WORKS Although the expansion pate in a carpool offers
Waze connects drivers could pose a threat to This undated screenshot provided by Waze Carpool shows a more flexibility that may
and riders with similar com- Uber and Lyft, most people demonstration of Google’s Waze carpooling service, which get more people to try it
mutes based on their home who use ride-hailing ser- matches up drivers and riders with similar commutes based on out, and discover they like
their home and work addresses.
and work addresses. Riders vices don’t rely on them to Associated Press it, Feigon said.
request carpool rides in ad- get to work, according to But it’s not an easy busi-
vance, but aren’t guaran- survey data. Instead, most muting to downtown San 54 cents per mile — the ness. Lyft ended its car-
teed matches. people use Uber and Lyft Francisco from the suburb rate that Internal Revenue pool service nine months
Drivers can only pick up for recreational or social of Lafayette via Uber could Service allows to account ago, citing a shortage of
one rider; they also get to reasons, particularly be- cost between $30 and $40 for gasoline, insurance and drivers willing to meet the
review the profiles of po- tween 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. each way using the ser- maintenance for a vehicle demand. It’s currently ex-
tential riders in advance when public transit shuts vice’s own carpool option, used on business. perimenting with another
and to select the ones they down in many places. according to Uber’s fare “We want the ride to be commute-hour option
prefer. Riders can only re- That’s according to a sur- estimator . affordable enough for rid- called Shuttle that makes
quest two rides a day. vey of 4,500 people con- On Waze, that 22-mile ers so they use it frequently designated stops on routes
The service is primarily fo- ducted last year by the (35-kilometer) ride would and we want drivers to be in two test markets — San
cused on rush-hour com- Shared-Use Mobility Cen- cost no more than $12.42. rewarded for taking a de- Francisco and Chicago.
mutes, when the odds of ter, a group that focuses WHAT GOOGLE GETS tour to fill an extra seat,” The expansion makes it
successfully matching driv- on public transit and ways Unlike ride-hailing services, said Josh Fried, head of more likely that Waze will
ers and riders are highest. to reduce the number of Waze’s carpooling service business development for offer carpooling in other
Waze said tens of thou- cars on the road. isn’t designed to provide the carpooling service. urban regions, although
sands of drivers and pas- Only 21 percent of the re- drivers with a major source The service also doesn’t Fried declined to com-
sengers have registered for spondents summoned a of income. make much money for ment on that possibility. So
carpooling in northern Cali- raid-hailing service to com- It tries to calculate a price Google, which derives far, the only other market
fornia. It won’t begin book- mute to work, and then did that’s most likely to encour- most of its income from that Waze has confirmed
ing carpooling requests so sporadically, the study age two people to carpool digital advertising. But the is Brazil, where the carpool-
outside northern California found. Cost could easily be instead of driving separate- company will be amass- ing service will begin oper-
until June 6 to give inter- a factor. For instance, com- ly. At most, drivers are paid ing data on commuters ating later this year.q

JetBlue, Delta will test biometric boarding passes

Boarding passes could ubiquitous paper boarding ty. JetBlue and U.S. Customs photos. Passengers who bers of its loyalty program
someday become quaint pass is already shunned by and Border Protection will are cleared will get a signal use fingerprints as proof of
relics for air travelers. many travelers who pre- test facial recognition for from a screen above the their identity to enter the
JetBlue Airways plans to test fer to use mobile board- passengers boarding flights camera, telling them they airline’s lounge at Reagan
facial-recognition check-in ing passes on their phones. from Boston’s Logan Airport can go ahead and board. Washington National Air-
for a few flights beginning Now pilot programs could to Aruba starting later this JetBlue said it will be the first port.
later this month, and Delta render those obsolete too, month. Volunteers will be airline to work with Customs The airline says that it plans
Air Lines plans to let some as airlines aim to increase photographed and their to test biometrics for iden- to expand the test at Na-
passengers board with their convenience for custom- images will be searched tifying passengers during tional to let members use
fingerprints instead of a ers, and government agen- against a Customs data- boarding. Delta recently fingerprints to check a bag
boarding pass. The once- cies look to increase securi- base of passport and other started letting come mem- and board a plane.q