Ride-sharing firm Uber have today launched their ‘Uber Green’ option, which allows riders to request a fully electric vehicle as their choice of transport in London.
The service is available for pickup in Zone 1, with the destination unrestricted.
Uber say their ‘Green’ option will cost the same as a standard UberX journey on the app.
Drivers who’ve already made the switch to electric vehicles will pay a reduced service fee of 15% on Uber Green trips.
Jamie Heywood, Ubers Regional General Manager, said: “With cities beginning to open up once again, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive a green recovery by making sure that every single car on the Uber app in London is fully electric. We continue to partner up with drivers to help them with the switch to electric vehicles and today we are excited to begin offering riders the option to select an electric vehicle at no additional cost, which allows everyone who uses Uber to play their part in cleaning up city transport.”
From 2019, Uber has collected an additional fee of 15p for each mile travelled in London, which goes directly to drivers to support them with the cost of switching to an electric vehicle.
The taxi firm stated that more than £125m has been raised so far for UK drivers to support the switch to green vehicles. Since the start of Uber’s Clean Air Plan, more than 3 million trips have taken place on the app in fully electric vehicles – no hybrids, diesel or petrol -the company has said.
The money created via Uber’s Clean Air Plan, means that drivers can, on average, save £4,500 on the cost of an electric vehicle. Other initiatives put in place for drivers include:
Uber drivers can all benefit from discounts when using BP Pulse’s public charging network. They will also be able to take advantage of Uber dedicated charging points at a series of rapid charging hubs across London.
Uber has signed deals with car manufacturers including Nissan and Kia to provide discounted vehicles for drivers.
Uber has announced funding of over £5m to invest in new vehicle charging infrastructure in London. It will target areas with the most professional drivers, such as Newham, Brent and Tower Hamlets.
By the end of 2021, Uber Green will run in 60 major European cities. Uber Green is also slated to be available in 1400 US locations by the end of the year.
Uber taxi laid out plans to become a fully electric mobility platform across Europe and North America by 2030, with London leading the way by 2025. ‘SPARK! Partnering to electrify in Europe’ was also announced in September to examine how Uber, carmakers, charging companies, cities and national policymakers can work together to fully electrify urban mobility.
