

The company also struggled at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. "In that sense, Waze redistributes traffic to create a better traffic situation for everyone." "All roads are the public domain and therefore the right of everyone to use," Levine said. Uri Levine, co-founder and former Waze president, said at the time that he disagreed with the complaints. In 2018, it faced threats of legal action by Los Angeles lawmakers for suggesting shortcuts that ended up causing more congestion on side roads not prepared to handle high amounts of traffic. The app's innovation has had led to backlash in the past, for potentially distracting drivers, who must use their phones behind the wheel to make reports on Waze. On the other hand, Waze's unique crowdsourcing technique allows it to determine the fastest route with the most recent information, and it's only available for car and motorbike use.

Google Maps is still the most popular navigation app today and relies more heavily on historical data to map out the best path to one's destination. The addition of Waze to the Google portfolio was expected to help Google improve features on its own navigation app, Google Maps. In 2013 – shortly after the app made the inaugural CNBC Disruptor 50 list – Alphabet 's Google acquired Waze, reportedly for more than $1 billion. What was once a small Israeli startup now has more than 140 million monthly users worldwide. The app then collects this real-time data and updates its maps accordingly, giving users the most up-to-date information on travel times and other potential traffic burdens. Waze users – also known as "Wazers" – provide information on things like stopped cars, road work, gas prices and police activity during their commutes.
