Google hits Uber, Lyft

Not content to let Uber and Lyft duke it out in the competitive, muddled world of ride-sharing, Google's Waze has launched its own carpool app.

The Chocolate Factory's crowdsource traffic and nav app will now allow users in the San Francisco Bay Area to use the app to either schedule a pick-up or find a passenger to ferry. Currently a pilot program, Waze is pitching the feature less as a commercial venture for drivers and more as a true 'carpool' app for grabbing a passenger or two to cover gas costs and qualify for the carpool lane.

Should Waze eventually decide to take its carpool service world-wide and push it as a commercial car service like Uber and Lyft, the two incumbent dial-a-ride kings could be in trouble. Waze already has an extensive network and user base with its mapping and traffic tools, not to mention the sizeable war chest that comes when Google is your parent company. ®