A real alternative to the private car, Uber is now one of the most popular VTC app. Long accused of increasing congestion and pollution in cities, several environmental advocates have been calling on Uber to implement a 100% clean fleet. A claim heard by Uber that has just announced this Tuesday its commitment to “become a platform completely zero emissions by 2040”. Zoom on this new ecological transition on an unprecedented scale.
A real “electric revolution”.
As announced in the introduction, numerous studies by environmental NGOs have demonstrated Uber’s harmful effects on cities. With the number of VTCs doubling in the last three years, nearly 90% of cars in France run on diesel, according to the Transport & Environment study, “A fuel that emits up to 6 times more nitrogen dioxide. “Knowing that on average, a VTC driver drives four times more than a private car.
The VTC Group has just announced in its press release on Tuesday that it aims to reach “100% of its journeys in electric vehicles in American, Canadian and European cities by 2030”. Then to extend this transition to greener mobility, worldwide, by 2040.
A global plan worth nearly $800 million
To encourage drivers to opt for cleaner vehicles, the mobility leader is committed to supporting them in this transition. How is this being done? Based on 4 actions:
- “Expand their Uber Green to make it easier for riders to choose to travel in hybrids or EVs.” This will include an additional income supplement paid to drivers for each trip. In the United States and Canada, drivers of hybrid and electric vehicles will receive $0.50 per trio. In France, from January 1, 2021, the price of the UberX, Pool, Comfort, Van and Sedan will increase by €0.03 per kilometer, which will be 100% transferred to the drivers. Important to note that this increase will obviously not concern the Uber Green option. An increase that makes Uber Green the cheapest VTC option (not counting UberPool, the shared formula).
Other actions planned by Uber in the coming years :
- “Investing in its multimodal network to promote sustainable alternatives to private cars.” From bicycles and scooters to carpooling with UberPool, Uber now wants to expand its transportation network. Thanks to many partnerships with public transports, it is now possible to book tickets directly from Uber’s application, in more than 10 cities.
- “Committing $800 million in resources to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to EVs by 2025. ″. This will be achieved, in particular, through the establishment of strategic partnerships.
- And finally, “be transparent and accountable” for their climate performance. This has already been illustrated by the publication of their first report, analyzing data on nearly 4 billion trips in the United States and Canada between 2017 and 2019.
GM, EDF, Renault-Nissan, BP, …
Uber has joined forces with different players in the market to facilitate access to zero-emission vehicles for VTC drivers. Namely, car manufacturers with General Motors, present on the American and Canadian market. Renault-Nissan in European cities in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Portugal. Other partnerships with Avis for rental companies and electric vehicle fleets. And finally, with providers of charging networks that give drivers low-cost access to rapid charging stations on the road or at home. To date, these include BP, EVgo, Enel X, Izivia by EDF and Power Dot. Uber is also looking to partner with local governments in the future. Partnerships, which we hope will accelerate this transition…
