Every day we make dozens of choices that impact the planet, from the food we eat to the transportation we choose. While our values guide these decisions, convenience does too.
But what if making the greener choice was just as effortless as the alternative?
At Uber, that aspiration is our north star as we embark on the next leg of our sustainability journey. Today we’re excited to introduce a series of new features to make it easier for riders and drivers to go green. And, after beginning the journey towards zero-emissions mobility, we’re bringing Uber Eats into our sustainability mission.
Together these small changes add up to something big: building sustainability into the core user experience across our global platform, one ride and delivery at a time.
Rider Emission Savings
You’ve been choosing greener rides, but what impact is it having? With our new Emission Savings feature, located on the Account page, you’ll be shown the emissions you’ve avoided by choosing Green and Comfort Electric rides. Because knowledge is power.
Green Curb at Airports
Just in time for summer travel, we’re adding a range of perks for riders and drivers to encourage them to go green at the airport. For riders who choose Uber Comfort Electric or Uber Green, perks include lower fares and exclusive access to dedicated pickup zones in preferred locations at the airport. And for drivers, we’ll offer convenient, discounted, or even free access to fast chargers in the driver waiting lot.
Carsharing
There are some moments in life when you might need to drive yourself—whether it’s to run errands or take a weekend getaway. That’s why we’re expanding Uber Carshare, our new product that allows you to borrow a car when you need one, so you don’t have to own one. By turning any car into a shared car, you’re increasing efficiency and contributing to more livable neighborhoods.
Expanding green and car-free products
In 200+ cities around the world, Uber offers a suite of sustainable products including Uber Green for low and zero-emission rides, Comfort Electric for electric rides in premium vehicles, and Uber Planet to offset the cost of emissions when you ride in markets where EVs aren’t widely available. Today we’re announcing:
- UberX Share: We’re launching UberX Share today in 18 more cities, allowing more riders to share their trip, cut emissions, and save money when matched with a co-rider along the way. UberX Share is now available in 50+ global cities, making it the most widely-available shared rides product in the world.
- Bikes: We’re soon expanding bikes to Chile through our partnership with Tembici in Latin America, so more riders can book a bike.
- Uber Green: We’re launching Uber Green today in Australia, making it available in more than 140 cities globally.
Smart Charging
Helping drivers go electric as fast as possible is at the heart of our strategy, and we’re devoting $800 million in resources to support them. But as drivers tell us, the cost of electric vehicles is not the only barrier they face.
One big barrier is that charging an EV can feel too complicated. From worrying about when and where to charge so they don’t miss out on peak earnings to range anxiety, drivers are juggling a lot.
That’s why we’re building smart charging features into the Uber Driver app. Uber’s technology will assess real-time signals such as charging prices, charging time, and traffic to recommend when and where drivers should charge, so they can maximize their earnings while on the road and when planning.
We’re also developing Battery-Aware Matching, which filters trip requests based on a driver’s battery level, so they can take trips that end near a charger and avoid trips that are too long for their battery. Charging should be seamless, not stressful.
Eco-friendly Routes
Starting last year in North America, Uber updated our mapping algorithms to be more fuel efficient when possible, without increasing the time and fare of the trip. Now our algorithms factor in things like elevation and the amount of stopping & starting at red lights–all factors that dictate how much fuel a vehicle consumes.
Our new default algorithm has helped drivers on Uber avoid 9,800 metric tons of CO2, or 4.2 million liters of gasoline in a few months. We’re excited to expand this update globally this year.
Delivery Commitment
In our mission to become the cleanest platform on the planet, we’re expanding our global sustainability work to include our Delivery business. We plan to eliminate emissions on all Uber Eats deliveries globally by 2040, and end all unnecessary plastic waste from deliveries by 2030.
With nearly one million merchants in 30+ countries, alongside millions of couriers and drivers, we have an important opportunity to help deliver a greener future. As we begin this work, we’re partnering with leaders in e-mobility and charging such as Cooltra, Human Forest, Zoomo, Gogoro, and Gachaco to increase car-free deliveries.
We’re teaming up with the World Wildlife Fund and others to support restaurants and couriers through discounts, incentives, and advocacy. Click here to learn more.
Green Packaging
Looking for restaurants that prioritize sustainability, too? In 2020, we introduced a feature that made single-use utensils strictly opt-in on Uber Eats, helping to reduce unnecessary packaging waste. And starting today in select cities, consumers will see our new Green Packaging feature to easily find and choose restaurants that use recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging. As more merchants go green, we’ll expand this feature around the world.
As we continue this journey, we’ll continue being transparent and accountable by publishing our carbon emissions, now for both rides and deliveries, each year. We’re also proud to be one of the first companies in the US to have our plans validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.
Uber’s mission is to reimagine the way the world moves for the better and we look forward to innovating on sustainability for years to come.
Source: Uber Newsroom
