Uber rival Waze which belongs to Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary Google has been rolled out in San Francisco, making it available to everyone.

The Waze app which has a lot of similarities to the Uber ride-hailing app is expected to be a bigger threat to companies such as Uber and Lyft. The two companies have been dominating the ride-hailing and ride-sharing services. The idea behind the Waze app is to match drivers with users that are traveling in the same direction, unlike Uber which is basically a taxi service that allows users to hail cabs from anywhere and get the driver to take them to their preferred destination.

The Uber rival Waze is like a monetized carpooling service

Google’s idea with Waze is not to adopt a strategy similar to that of Waze but rather to introduce it a form of carpooling where the drivers get to earn a bit of cash. Waze charges cheaper fare prices compared to Uber or Lyft. It also gives lower pay to drivers and limits use to two times per day for both drivers and riders. It is thus ideal as a means to get to and from work.

The Waze service to be accessible to anyone in San Francisco

Google has expanded the Waze service in San Francisco such that anyone who owns a smartphone can simply install the app and use the service. That has not always been the case because the service was initially launched in May and was only available to people who work in the Bay Area. It is not yet clear whether the company has plans to expand to other areas but that will most likely be the case. One of the drivers who has signed up to the service stated that the Uber rival, Waze is a good way for her to earn a few extra dollars during her commute.

“It’s cheap and it’s easy,” she told the Wall Street Journal.

Alphabet stocks closed the latest trading session at $804.06, up by $1.42 or 0.18% compared to the value of the stock during the close of the previous trading session.