Google Is About to Take On Uber in a Big Way

Google is expanding a ride-sharing service that would directly compete with Uber and similar companies, The Wall Street Journal reports, the latest development in the two firms' dissolution from partners to rivals. Google's service, which will be available through the company's Waze navigation app, would essentially work as a digital carpooling platform, linking paying ride-seekers with drivers headed in the same direction. The company has been testing the service on a small scale, but is now ready to expand it more broadly across San Francisco, the Journal reports. Unlike Uber and its nearest rival, Lyft, Google will not yet take a cut of drivers' fares. That means it won't make money any time soon--but, thanks to Google's lucrative advertising business, that doesn't necessarily need to happen right away.