Last year, Uber launched the Clean Air Plan to make every car on the app in London electric by 2025. This year, it has announced a global commitment to becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2040, vowing to contribute $800 million to help drivers switch to battery-powered vehicles. It hopes to reduce the overall cost of owning an EV, which is still more expensive than gasoline cars at the moment.
And it has a plan! Through its Green Future program (the financial support), hundreds of thousands of drivers will transition to electric vehicles by 2025, leading to a zero-emissions mobility platform in major cities across the US, Europe, and Canada by the end of the decade. Those regions will reach the goal faster because they can take advantage of advanced infrastructure and regulatory support. Fast-forward ten more years and any trip taken anywhere in the world using the app will be in a zero-emissions vehicle or through micromobility and public transport.
Uber writes on its website:
Millions of trips a day. Zero emissions. That’s our commitment to every single person on the planet who travels with Uber. The path there will be electric. It will be shared. It will be with buses and trains and bicycles and scooters. These monumental changes won’t come easy. Or fast. But we have a plan to get there, and we need you to come along for the ride.
The financial support includes discounts for vehicles bought or leased from partner automakers – General Motors and the Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi alliance – and for charging and fare surcharge for electric and hybrid cars. There are five million Uber drivers worldwide. The deal with these automakers will be for drivers in the US, Europe, and Canada. Meanwhile, Uber is discussing partnerships with other companies regarding the rest of the world. As for the discount for charging and fare surcharge, they’ll be partially offset by a small fee charged to customers requesting a “green trip.” And as a bonus incentive, as of this month, all fully-electric US and Canadian Uber drivers will receive an extra $1 per trip, or $1.50 if the passenger chooses the “green trip.”
Statistical data from pre-pandemic times show that EVs account for only 0.15% of all US and Canadian Uber trip miles. Uber’s plan will hopefully send that figure skyrocketing towards 100% fast. The company is also working with global charging providers – like BP and EVgo – to provide discounts and expand the infrastructure. Having more charging stations for ride-hail drivers should facilitate EV adoption.
Uber also promises to publish reports on its emission footprint as we advance, to be transparent and accountable to the public along its journey to zero-emissions.
