Uber to offer free rides at Australian Open to lift interest in EVs

As interest in EVs falls among Australians, ridesharing giant Uber hopes to turn that around. Here’s how you can get a free ride.

Uber has struck a partnership with Kia to offer tennis fans at the Australian Open free rides in an EV.

Uber is partnering with Kia to offer tennis fans at the Australian Open free rides in electric vehicles in an effort to spur greater interest in EVs among Australians to accelerate its climate change busting goals.

The campaign is aimed at enticing more people to choose EVs as the rideshare giant races to achieve its ambitious goal of transitioning fully to net-zero emission vehicles by 2040, with Australia lagging behind Europe and the US.

Overall interest in EVs among Australians has fallen as a higher initial sale price compared with internal combustion engine cars and ‘range anxiety’ turn off prospective buyers, according to new separate research.

But Uber, which has incentives for its drivers to buy EVs via partnerships with various manufacturers, remains undeterred. Uber managing director for Australia and New Zealand Emma Foley says if the company can provide a taste of EV benefits to rides it will fuel interest and help achieve net zero goals.

“We hear time and again that many people’s first experience with an EV is on the Uber platform – where they first encounter the comfort of these vehicles and have the opportunity to talk with drivers about common topics like charging and range,” Ms Foley told The Australian ahead of the Australian Open Kia partnership.

“By partnering with Kia against the backdrop of a major Australian cultural moment, tens of thousands of fans will experience emissions-free travel – and for free.

“We’ve been laser-focused the past few years on bringing down the cost of EV ownership for our drivers and as a result we’ve seen the Uber platform in Australia electrify at approximately five times the rate of the general population.”

As of 2024, EVs comprised about 10 per cent of Uber’s fleet in Europe, with US “slightly behind”. Meanwhile, in Australia about 5 per cent of Uber rides are in an EV.

An Uber One-branded Kia EV in Melbourne.

But Ms Foley said more Australians were choosing Uber Green as a ride option, saying “currently, more than 25,000 trips are happening in an EV each day”.

Uber announced in London last October that it was also phasing out hybrid vehicles from its Green offering in Australia and other countries to make it fully electric by April. This has put the company at odds with the world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, which says hybrid petrol-electric cars are key to slashing emissions.

But one Uber executive said the problem with hybrid vehicles was “they don’t produce zero emissions” and they are not the “long-term future”.

“There’s still a long way to go as we work to eliminate all vehicle emissions on the platform by 2040 – which is why partnerships like this with Kia are critical to reinforce the many benefits of going electric,” Ms Foley said.

Kia will deploy about 50 EVs, including its recently unveiled EV5, for the two weeks across the Australian Open. Between 9am and 10pm from January 12 to 26, if a Kia Electric vehicle is available, riders will be able to select that option and ride to their destination, with Kia picking up the cost of the ride for them.

Ms Foley said the rides are subject to availability and will be visible only for Uber One members who are travelling within an 8km radius of the Melbourne tennis precinct. The rides are capped at $100.

“With Kia’s support in 2024, we were able to help thousands of Uber One members move around Melbourne, but we’re optimistic that this year, with a 60 per cent larger EV fleet, we will be able to double the amount of emissions-free kilometres travelled and double the amount of Uber One members that are able to claim a free ride.”

Originally published as Uber to offer free rides at Australian Open to lift interest in EVs