By Nick Toscano
Ride-hailing giant Uber has struck a deal with BP to offer discounted electric vehicle charging to its Australian drivers as it launches a service dedicated to lower-emissions rides and seeks to persuade reluctant drivers to make the switch to electric cars.
Uber, which has set a target to phase out carbon-polluting vehicles from its platform by 2040, is exploring ways to increase uptake of electric cars in Australia, where sales of emissions-free vehicles are still lagging far behind other developed nations.
An MG ZS EV receiving a charge.Credit: Bloomberg
The United States-based app company on Friday sent the “Uber Green” feature live across Australia for the first time, four years after it was launched in Europe, enabling customers to request a hybrid or fully electric car for the same price as an UberX journey.
“Australia’s path to net-zero is going to take a concerted effort from all of us, and Uber is stepping up to play our part,” Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager Dom Taylor said.
In a new deal between Uber and British energy major BP, Uber drivers and couriers using electric vehicles will receive a discount on charging at BP Pulse service stations. The program, which the companies aim to launch by the end of the year, would save Uber drivers between 5¢ and 8¢ a kilowatt-hour on the cost of charging.
Light vehicles account for more than 10 per cent of Australia’s output of greenhouse gas emissions, making the sector a major contributor to global warming.
While ride-hailing cars are newer and have better fuel efficiency than the wider vehicle fleet, the industry has faced scrutiny in some cities in the United States, where studies suggest it contributes to urban congestion and emissions because of the amount of time drivers spend driving around between jobs.
Ride-sharing platforms, however, believe they can have a significant impact on decarbonisation if they can influence more electric vehicle uptake.
Uber’s global CEO, Iranian-American Dara Khosrowshahi, at the company’s Sydney HQ.Credit: Louie Douvis
Speaking at a sustainability event in London, Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber drivers were becoming the world’s early adopters of electrification, “moving electric five times faster than the average drivers out there”.
“And, as you can imagine, the average Uber driver drives a lot more miles than the average driver out there, creating an outsized impact as our drivers go green,” he said.
Australia is a laggard globally on the adoption of electric vehicles. Just 3.8 per cent of new vehicle sales in Australia were electric last year, compared with 8 per cent in the United States, 23 per cent in Britain and 25 per cent in Europe, according to the International Energy Agency.
The Victorian government this week said it would end its $3000 subsidy for motorists who buy new electric vehicles, cutting short a handout intended to drive faster uptake of zero-emissions cars.
Across Uber’s fleet of 150,000 Australian drivers and couriers, there are 1250 electric cars now operating.
Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey, who took the first Uber Green trip in Australia, said that making cleaner transport options more widely available would be key to driving decarbonisation.
“It’s through these simple changes in our day-to-day routines that we will reduce our emissions and achieve our net-zero target,” he said.
The reporter travelled to London as a guest of Uber.
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