[ismail]

Note: We have built a marketplace to connect drivers and passengers, so we understand some of the challenges in scaling a business like this.

Like all marketplaces, you are faced with the chicken and egg problem. The market place is supply constrained. There is demand for rides but not enough matching supply. People with cars much prefer to travel alone due the inconvenience of picking up others.

So, in order to get the drivers you need to give them a VERY convenient option. Someone that is along their route, that would not add more than 5-10 mins of extra commute time, this is also dependent on how long the total commute is. You also need to reach these drivers, without them searching for a solution. Which is insanely expensive since the cheap acquisition strategies do not work.

The best way to solve this IMHO is seeding the market with drivers (supply side). Once you have the scale to guarantee a ride in a specific area you open up ride-sharing.

* Uber is doing this by incentivizing drivers who want to make a profit.

* Google is uniquely positioned to do this as well, since they have the treasure trove of Wayze data

[jellicle]

Google knows where every Android user and most of everyone else lives and works.

Frankly it would be trivial to ask Android users a question: "Are you interested in carpooling? [Y/N]" and then prompt them when the guy three doors down also answers yes.

[ikeboy]

We both know they'd be (rightly) yelled at by all of us if they did that.

Waze, fine. By using the app, you agree they might monetize it, or whatever. But pushing ads to stock android is a huge no-no.

[mjmahone17]

Eh, but it would work inside Google Maps/Waze. Some people I know use Google Maps or Waze every day, despite knowing what the best way to get to work is. This means Google likely already has the "driver" supply, and just needs to find a good way to provide those drivers with appropriate passengers.

So when someone first opens Waze/GM, you could put up a notification: "Dakota Doe <picture, rating> is 2 minutes away and is also trying to go to X. Would you like to carpool them?" People who say yes get pushed it more and more often, people who say no get a screen the next time they open the app expounding on the benefits of carpooling.

[matchu]

The feature they're describing sounds like a good fit for Google Now. I don't know what "stock" is well enough to know whether Now counts, but Now definitely has tight integration with other Google services already; if RideWith appeared in there, it probably wouldn't raise many eyebrows.

[prawn]

And what if they add a button to Google Maps that showed a shared car? And tapping it started the on-boarding for a ride-sharing service. Completely opt-in.

[minthd]

Not only android. Waze is very popular in israel, even on IOS.