A company profits (or intends to) from what it does, even if they don't directly charge for it. At the least, it adds value to their brand.
Of course it's even better here: Street View is part of maps which is a real business for Google, and they even added ads to map searches recently. It's also part of the Android maps offering.
Plus they get to keep the data anyway, so they'll eventually use those for AR, Google Glasses, and what have you. Oh, and the GPS data recorded by the Street View equipment also add data to regular maps and fix mapping inconsistencies.
Of course it's even better here: Street View is part of maps which is a real business for Google, and they even added ads to map searches recently. It's also part of the Android maps offering.
Plus they get to keep the data anyway, so they'll eventually use those for AR, Google Glasses, and what have you. Oh, and the GPS data recorded by the Street View equipment also add data to regular maps and fix mapping inconsistencies.