Google Begins Second Major Test of Carpool Service for Office Workers

Google tests its rideshare service for office workers in limited mode in the San Francisco Bay area a year after it began pilot tests of an identical service called RideWith in Israel.

Google's Waze Carpool rideshare service for office workers, which launched in limited mode in the San Francisco Bay area last week, actually marks the second major test of the concept for the company in the past year.

Last July, Google quietly began pilot tests of an identical service in Israel called RideWith for linking people looking for rides to work with drivers headed to the same destination. Pilot versions of the service were launched in Tel Aviv, Herzliya and Ra'anana. Initial plans had also called for RideWith to be available to students and faculty at Tel Aviv University.