As most of you, I have been using Waze forever. As most of you, I noticed the addition of Waze Carpool a year or so back. As most of you, I concluded that it is not for me.
Well, something tweaked with the advent of what Tesla likes me to think of as my new electric lifestyle.
Between the new awareness of the per-mile cost of my daily driving, the exuberant desire to share the Tesla experience with the world, the geek's curiosity about the implementation, and, let's be honest, a finger slip that made me click the dude with the raised hand in the bottom right of the app, I have decided to give Waze Carpool a try. As a driver for now.
The way it works is you put in your daily commute schedule with some cushion as to how early and how late you are willing to leave to and from work. It matches you with those who have requested rides along your route, some of whom have requested rides days in advance or on a daily schedule. You look at their names, faces, number of past rides, how far off your route they are to be picked up and dropped off, as well as how much they pay. How much they pay is determined by the app and depends either solely on the distance or perhaps on how far out of the way you have to go.
I have a 25 minute commute and the range of process I got offered is $2.10 to $4.80 with 1-5 minutes off-route. So, probably not enough to make a living, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
You can offer a ride to up to four people who meet your criteria, and as soon as one of them accepts, the other offers are cancelled. You then get a reminder, you click start button, your rider gets updates of your ETA, you can exchange messages, give each other rating, etc. All as you would expect with Uber, etc., but with much lower barrier to entry.
While setting up, you get to put in your work email and after you confirm it, the app knows where you work. You can then pick up riders from your company only if you prefer.
I picked up my first rider today, it was a contractor working for my company, new to the area. The pick-up took me 2 minutes off-route, and the drop-off was at my building. I got paid $3.30 for my troubles (Waze pays by bank transfer once a month) and took the car across the street to the ChargePoint station with the next two hours being paid for.
A few hours later the same rider requested a ride tomorrow, which I accepted even though I had an offer out for a $4.50 ride.
So far, it's good even if just to say you I it.
Share your experience, especially if you have done it already. Any regrets?
Well, something tweaked with the advent of what Tesla likes me to think of as my new electric lifestyle.
Between the new awareness of the per-mile cost of my daily driving, the exuberant desire to share the Tesla experience with the world, the geek's curiosity about the implementation, and, let's be honest, a finger slip that made me click the dude with the raised hand in the bottom right of the app, I have decided to give Waze Carpool a try. As a driver for now.
The way it works is you put in your daily commute schedule with some cushion as to how early and how late you are willing to leave to and from work. It matches you with those who have requested rides along your route, some of whom have requested rides days in advance or on a daily schedule. You look at their names, faces, number of past rides, how far off your route they are to be picked up and dropped off, as well as how much they pay. How much they pay is determined by the app and depends either solely on the distance or perhaps on how far out of the way you have to go.
I have a 25 minute commute and the range of process I got offered is $2.10 to $4.80 with 1-5 minutes off-route. So, probably not enough to make a living, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
You can offer a ride to up to four people who meet your criteria, and as soon as one of them accepts, the other offers are cancelled. You then get a reminder, you click start button, your rider gets updates of your ETA, you can exchange messages, give each other rating, etc. All as you would expect with Uber, etc., but with much lower barrier to entry.
While setting up, you get to put in your work email and after you confirm it, the app knows where you work. You can then pick up riders from your company only if you prefer.
I picked up my first rider today, it was a contractor working for my company, new to the area. The pick-up took me 2 minutes off-route, and the drop-off was at my building. I got paid $3.30 for my troubles (Waze pays by bank transfer once a month) and took the car across the street to the ChargePoint station with the next two hours being paid for.
A few hours later the same rider requested a ride tomorrow, which I accepted even though I had an offer out for a $4.50 ride.
So far, it's good even if just to say you I it.
Share your experience, especially if you have done it already. Any regrets?
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