In an effort to reduce your carbon footprint, Uber announced that by 2030 they will only allow the use of electric cars in their fleet. The company confirmed that its goal is to have exclusively zero-emission vehicles in the United States, Canada and Europe by that date. The transition would be completed globally in 2040.
“We believe we can reach that 2030 goal in any large city where we have a presence, and where we can work with investors and local governments to implement policies that ensure a just transition to electric cars for our drivers,” he said during an event. Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uberaccording to the portal Electrek.
The executive director also pointed out that, by that time, the platform will no longer allow the use of combustion cars. The measure would also ban hybrid cars, as they still run partially on gasoline.
“If we are doing our job, we will be fully electric,” Khosrowshahi said in a recent interview for CBS.
How will Uber go about electrifying its entire network of vehicles?
The platform has a whole plan to reach its goal. The first step is expand the ‘Uber Confort Electric’ option to 25 cities in the United States and Canada. This modality allows users to choose that their trip be specifically in an electric car. The program has been available in Mexico since 2016 under the name of ‘UberGreen’ but, unlike ‘Comfort Electric’, both electric and hybrid vehicles are offered here.
For now, traveling by Comfort Electric is a bit more expensive for users and involves a longer wait time to find a driver. However, the CEO of the company is confident that this will improve.
“The more electric cars we have in a particular market, the more the waiting time will go down, and the prices may also go down,” Khosrowshahi said.
At the same time, they plan double the number of electric cars in the fleet by 2023. Currently, Uber has approximately one million vehicles worldwide, of which only about 25,000 are electric. The goal is to have 50,000 cars of this type by the end of next year.
The company is aware that electric cars are more expensive than combustion cars, and that many drivers will have to change their vehicle. Therefore, they will allocate a $800 million budget to help them offset the expense and speed up the transition.
Also, they have some driver incentives. The platform pays those who drive electric vehicles an extra dollar for each trip made, and offers discounts on charging. They also partnered with the car rental chain Hertz in the United States, so members can rent vehicles Tesla in weekly or monthly plan at more affordable prices.
What about Mexico and Latin America?
Although actions to electrify all of Uber are already underway, Khosrowshahi acknowledges that there is still a long way to go to reach the 2030 goal. “The momentum is excellent, but most of the work is ahead, not behind,” he told the television station. .
The first regions to fully adopt this model are known to be the United States, Canada, and Europe. However, it is not known if the same policies and economic incentives will reach Latin America or Mexico in the coming years. For now, we can only assume that this will happen sometime before 2040.
Uber’s goal is that, by that year, its entire fleet worldwide is made up exclusively of sustainable models, whether they are cars, trucks or vehicles for micromobility such as scooter and bicycles.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.