Lyra Martin Tech 08.26.2022 23:Aug PM EDT

Waze is Shutting Down Its Carpool App — But Why?

Beginning in September, users in Brazil, Israel, and the US of the Google-owned navigation software Waze won't be able to utilize it carpool feature.

Why is Waze Terminating Its Carpool App?

As reported by Engadget, Google-owned Waze has announced that it will soon cease its support for its carpooling app, which has been working for six years. This decision which would affect users from US, Brazil, and Israel, was due to the decreased demand for carpooling services as the Covid-19 crisis reduced the number of commuters.

Before it expanded to three countries, Waze was first made available in San Fransisco way back in 2016, and two years after, it developed a stand-alone app. Ordinary commuters commonly use the platform, but it has made partner programs with businesses for employees' travel convenience.

An email that a spokesperson from Waze sent to TechCrunch said, "driving behaviors on the roads have changed, while Waze was predominantly a commuting app pre-COVID, today the proportion of errands and travel drives have surpassed commutes."

Waze's carpooling system does not intend to let drivers earn but rather become a way for them to save fuel and give commuters a cheap ride towards the same destination as them, which contrast with how Uber and Layf work.

However, because of the restraints of the pandemic, most people opted to work from the comforts of their homes, decreasing the demand for such type of service. Although more individuals have returned to the workforce this year, carpooling and public transportation use are still below what they were before the epidemic.

Several Waze Users Experienced Technical Glitches on Android Auto and CarPlay

Several weeks ago, reports of issues concerning Google's Waze App circulated. This is after users experience latency difficulties on Android Auto and Carplay, according to a number of help posting on Google's forums.

Users of the Waze app have reported that the application runs more slowly on CarPlay and Android Auto, regardless of whether or not GPS is enabled. They are concerned that it may result in CarPlay issues since none of the on-screen controls will work until the software has been stopped, therefore, this gives them a reason for concern.

It was the apparent inability of Waze to respond to touch input, and its frequent display refreshes appear to be the root of the problem. Despite the active navigation, the program gradually begins to lag and has several issues. In addition, the position that shows on the display is occasionally inaccurate and places the car in a different area.

Waze does not have a detrimental impact on Apple's CarPlay platform, despite what some users have claimed. However, when users stop using Waze, the issues that have been reported disappear.

The Waze engineering team was informed as soon as the problem was found, according to a post published on the Google Forum by a product expert. Unfortunately, none of the platforms had any easy fixes accessible right away.

Users using CarPlay seem to be the primary source of these worries, even if Android Auto also appears to be impacted. Although this problem is unknown, those affected users can continue to use Apple Maps or Google Maps because they are exempted from the concerns mentioned earlier.