Waze Carpool Now Available Nationwide

Waze Carpool, the Google-owned app that connects people with rides, announced Wednesday (Oct. 10) that the service is now available nationwide.

In a blog post, Waze Carpool said it now has 110 million monthly active users globally, and that every month, more than 12 million Waze users report over 60 million incidents. But with traffic getting worse, it has expanded its carpool service after testing it over the past few months.

“We’ve all experienced that moment when you’re sitting helplessly in traffic, shaking your head at all the drivers around you, wondering why they had to ruin your commute. Well, guess what? Those same drivers are looking at you … and blaming you,” wrote CEO Noam Bardin in the blog post. “The cause of our current congestion crisis is simple: Too many people are driving alone, in the same direction, at the same time. We all share part of the blame for creating traffic, and therefore, we all share a responsibility to do something about it.”

Starting Wednesday, Waze Carpool is available across the U.S., after having been tested in several states. Users of Waze can join Waze Carpool as a driver or rider or both. Drivers can drive up to four people or leave their car at home. Employees and employers can get other workers to participate in carpools and team up with Waze Carpool to get a month of free rides for everyone at the company.

According to reports, as part of the nationwide rollout, Waze said the carpooling app will be made available at 50 Amazon fulfillment centers. The company is also inking partnerships with cities, businesses, transit agencies and civic organizations.

The carpooling service was first tested in San Francisco, Sacramento and Monterey, then expanded across California, Texas, Massachusetts and Washington before the nationwide rollout announcement.

Unlike other ride-hailing apps, Waze lets riders and drivers find people to commute with based on their profiles, ratings, number of mutual friends and other search characteristics, such as gender, co-worker, classmate and closeness to your route.