On Tuesday, September 15, the “Waze On” was held, the very first virtual event of the famous itinerary search application. Hosted by Waze CEO “Noam Bardin”, with Erin Clift, CMO and Rafa Cochen CPO of Waze, many new features were unveiled. Zoom on these new developments integrated in the coming months to more than 140 million users.
The integration of personalized travel suggestions and recommendations
From the implementation of traffic status notifications to the optimization of Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) calculation, Waze is today able to provide the best recommendations or suggestions, allowing motorists to anticipate as good as possible. Indeed, due to the pandemic and the declining number of cars on the roads, it had become increasingly difficult for the application to accurately forecast the time of arrival. This new update will incorporate this decrease in traffic in its calculation. “Lane Guidance” is also added. A new feature that tells the driver what lane to be in when they’re merging or exiting a stretch of highway.
And finally, another update, the recording of a planned route on Waze Live Map on the mobile application. Indeed, in order to make the user experience as fluid as possible, the driver can save his next trip on the website. An itinerary, imported and accessible on the mobile application.
The optimization of Waze Carpool
If you don’t know this option, that’s normal. Carpooling service of Waze launched in 2016, it is only available in some countries. Namely, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Israel. During the Waze On, Waze has announced the improvement of the service. Indeed, the driver now has the possibility to set his own price or to activate the automatic approval such as on BlaBlaCar.
On the passenger side, the application integrates instantaneous reservation, but especially the “Real-Time Rides” option. A new feature that informs the driver in advance of the presence of potential passengers.
Voice guidance finally available, not only in English
With the integration of Google Assistant on the French version, it is now possible for all users in France to enter their destination or warn of dangers by voice. The feature is available for both Spanish and Portuguese speakers. Another integration presented at the Waze On, the arrival of Amazon Music. As with Spotify, Deezer, Tidal or YouTube Music, drivers can now listen to and control their music. And all without having to leave the app.
