Google enters the rideshare business

Google is gradually making moves to enter the rideshare market, announcing plans to launch a carpooling pilot program that will allow commuters to pay fellow drivers for a ride to and from work.

The new app, called RideWith, will utilize Google's Waze – an Israel-based navigation app that uses crowdsourced information shared by users to offer real-time traffic data – to learn the routes drivers most frequently take to work. RideWith will then match them up with people looking for a ride going in the same general direction.

The pilot program will launch in three Israeli cities initially: Tel Aviv, Ra’anana and Herzliya.

RideWith joins a growing list of apps billed as being "people powered."(Photo: Nebojsa Markovic/Shutterstock)

RideWith will be entering a market that already features the likes of Via and BlaBlaCar. It's also expected to compete with services such as Uber, Lyft and Gett – at least during rush hour – though Google is making sure to differentiate its service from those car-hailing apps.

RideWith will not allow drivers to earn a salary. Instead they will be limited to just two journeys a day and will receive a small payment from passengers based on distance traveled and a car maintenance fee.

RideWith joins a growing list of Israeli apps billed as being "people powered"; other apps include BillGuard, Nexar and Moovit, all of which use crowdsourcing to obtain intel for their users.