Uber is betting big on electric driving – 5 new ways it wants to entice you to drive its electric cars
Uber chose the Science Museum in London to launch the 2024 edition of its annual climate event, Go-Get Zero. This highlights the company’s commitment to electrifying its fleet – including some new ways to entice you to drive its electric vehicles.
In addition to confirming its autonomous ride projects, including Waymo and recent partnership with Hyundai, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained that despite the global slowdown in electric vehicle adoption, the company’s drivers were adopting electric vehicles five times faster than the average. motorist.
Four years ago, when Uber first set its lofty climate goals and introduced Uber Green, there were only 10,000 EV drivers on the platform. There are now 182,000 worldwide and there have been over half a billion emission-free journeys in Europe alone.
However, the company says there is still a lot of work to do today and sees itself as a key player in mass EV adoption in general, citing the fact that many EV owners had their first interaction with an electric vehicle through an Uber ride.
Uber Green, the section of the platform reserved exclusively for drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles, will become electric-only from today in more than 40 markets around the world, including France, Australia and major US cities.
To entice Uber users to go ‘green’, the company has made a number of changes to its app that encourage and incentivize both passengers and drivers to choose the electric option.
1. EV preference
Uber wants to take the decision-making process out of the equation by opting for the closer but more emissions-heavy UberX and the slightly further away Uber Green ride – as the two now cost largely the same.
You can change an EV preference setting that automatically matches an EV when one is nearby.
If the difference between Green and UberX is only a few minutes, the app will automatically choose the EV alternative. However, if the software thinks the wait is too long, it will select the nearest UberX instead.
2. You could drive a Lotus or a Rivian
Part publicity stunt and part branded, Uber has announced its EV Pop-ups program, which will see a number of ‘premium EVs’ spread across key cities, available at certain times for users to select and costing a similar amount to Uber Black SUV rides.
In London, Uber has partnered with Lotus and app users can select a new Lotus Eletre as their premium EV ride. In LA, Miami and Dallas, Rivian’s sleek electric car will be Rivian’s R1 electric SUV. But it’s only available between October 14 and 21, so be quick.
There’s no word on the number of models driving through each city at any given time, nor is there a figure on the likelihood of one being snagged. But that’s all part of the fun, right?
3. Real-time CO2 savings
The Uber app will see some minor design changes that could make selecting the Uber Green option a little more exciting. The timeline as you wait for a car to arrive looks like a patch of ivy, complete with bursting shoots, for example, while there are a number of new animations celebrating a user choosing the green option.
But more importantly: users will soon be able to see how much CO2 they have saved during and after a trip. This figure adds up over time and is displayed on the home screen, while the carbon savings made from using Uber’s many eBikes, scooters and even ride-sharing programs all count.
During the GO-GET Zero event, Sachin Kansal, product manager and bona fide Uber driver, announced that the driver in London who achieves the highest emissions savings from now until the end of November will receive free Uber rides for ten years.
4. Many more Uber Green cars will be available
In addition to rewarding Uber drivers, the company says it’s making it a lot easier for its drivers to make the switch to EV. It has developed an AI assistant in the driver section of its app that will answer numerous questions about EV ownership.
If talking to a robot isn’t good enough, the company also connects reluctant buyers to one of its many ‘EV Mentors’ – or those Uber drivers who have been driving electric for years.
Of course, there will also be plenty of subsidies and incentives, such as big discounts on the purchase of new electric vehicles, a huge reduction in the cost of using the public charging network, help installing chargers at home – including 1,000 free home chargers for Large -Britain drivers thanks to a link with Octopus energy.
5. BYD will become the Uber car of choice in Britain and Europe
The company stated that it is working with BYD to accelerate the number of “more affordable” electric vehicles it can offer its drivers, and therefore the rate at which Uber Green expands over time.
That said, the company did not go into detail about its partnership opportunities in the US, as BYD would likely not be around there as the US government has imposed huge import taxes on Chinese-made electric cars and may impose a tariff on imports. a complete ban on anything related to Chinese technology.