Uber wants more drivers to use electric cars

Uber has announced a range of eco-conscious options for consumers, drivers, and restaurants as part of a push to become a zero-emissions platform in Australia by 2040.

The company has now rolled out Uber Green across a number of Australian cities, which allows riders to choose a hybrid or electric vehicle (EV).

Uber Green is the same cost as a standard UberX. All riders need to do is select Uber Green from the list of options when booking a ride.

This new ride option is also available to Uber for Business customers, which allows organisations to view data on lower-emissions trips taken by employees, helping them progress their own sustainability goals.

Uber Green is currently available to riders in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra.

In addition, Uber and BP Pulse have signed a memorandum of understanding that builds on their global partnership and introduces incentives and EV charging discounts to Australian drivers.

Depending on the driver’s Uber Pro tier status, Uber drivers will be able to save between 5-8c/kWh on the cost of charging at any BP Pulse charging station in Australia.

Uber plans to roll out this particular EV charging incentive by the end of the year.

“Charging infrastructure and the operational costs of driving an EV is greatly improving in Australia, but we want to do all we can to incentivise our driver and delivery partners to use EVs when earning on our platform,” said Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager Dom Taylor.

“This partnership is a first for ride-share in Australia, and we’re thrilled to build on our partnership with bp that has brought significant savings to drivers over the past year.”

Australian startup Uber Carshare, formerly known as Car Next Door, is confirmed to be expanding internationally to Canada and the United States. The service will “soon” be available in Toronto and Boston.

“We couldn’t be more excited to see what began as a bold experiment – to disrupt Australia’s one person, one car mentality – grow into a global movement,” said Uber Carshare CEO Will Davies.

“Over the past decade, we’ve been humbled by how Aussies have embraced carsharing, and we can’t wait to see the car-light lifestyle take off internationally with the expansion of Uber Carshare.”

Uber has previously said it’s planning to go all-electric from 2030 in certain markets including the USA, Canada and Europe. This is part of a wider, overarching goal of becoming a zero-emissions company by 2040.

On the local front, the company has halved the services fees for Australian electric car drivers until mid-2025, in a bid to encourage its operators to move away from petrol, diesel, and hybrids.

The policy follows a successful 12-month trial in Australia. Uber said the move is equivalent to a $26 million investment in Australian EV market at the time.

According to Uber, more than 378,000 electric trips were completed between July 1, 2021, and July 8, 2022, and the number of monthly trips increased nearly five times in Australia.

A survey conducted by Uber in 2021 said almost 60 per cent of its drivers were looking to go electric by 2026, but only if it could be made more cost-effective.

Mr Taylor said last year the company will “lose money” on every ride with half-price service fees, but believes “the benefits” of swathes of the company’s fleet moving to electric power “will be worth it”.

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