Waze Carpool app expands to Washington

SEATTLE — A new commute option launched in Washington Tuesday to help people connect for carpooling.

Carpooling is a good option for people looking to take advantage of the HOV lanes, but setting one up can be a challenge, especially if your commute plans change.

But as of Tuesday, the wayfinding app Waze expanded Waze Carpool to Washington State to try to make that connection easier.

Drivers and passengers can sign up based on where and when they commute.

Users can vet their potential carpool partner by checking out their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles or talk with them using a proxy phone number that protects your actual phone number to see how well you mesh.

Waze Carpool allows the driver to collect up to .54 cents per mile.

Once enough people sign up for the service, the ideal scenario is that each user will have two or three potential carpool partners to use as their commute times change through the week, according to a company executive.

“I think of it like a smart, casual carpool. People have been carpooling together for a hundred years, and it has essentially been challenging, difficult, a little annoying to find a great carpool partner. Waze takes all of the work and does it for you,” said Josh Fried with Waze Carpool.

The app has already launched in Israel, the home of Waze, as well as Texas and California, where Waze says tens of thousands of people have signed up.

The company says the app will probably work best for medium to long commutes.

Cox Media Group