Electric cars are hitting the road for Uber.
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If everything goes smoothly, the company will start introducing electric cars into at least one other United Kingdom city this autumn.
Jo Bertram, head of Uber UK, said that Uber is determined to lessen air pollution in London, where already 60% of all miles traveled in Uber’s cars are in hybrid vehicles. “We are aimed to use new technology to control the challenge of air pollution in London and across the United Kingdom”. “With electric vehicles, people sharing their journey and leaving their own cars at home”. Our car-sharing service has already saved 1.2 million miles and 211 metric tonnes of CO2.
The company is also launching a self-driving vehicle service in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania albeit with a driver behind the wheel just in case something goes wrong.
The new cars, a mix of Nissan Leaf and BYD E6 vehicles which produce zero emissions, have been offered to some of Uber’s top-rated drivers.
A three-month study into the programme will also be conducted by the Energy Saving Trust, which will look into the feasibility of running a large number of EVs as private hire vehicles. This trial period will also look at driving patterns of those using electric cars, and be a major test for London’s current vehicle charging network.
“We are confident this trial will prove a success and that Uber will join scores of taxi and private hire operators across the United Kingdom and wider Europe in recognizing the financial and environmental benefits of Nissan’s market-leading electric vehicles”.
“Of course there are challenges ahead”. She added: “A bigger roll out of fully electric cars needs a good network of charging points and the economics must add up for drivers too”.
The company has partnered with The Energy Saving Trust – a United Kingdom company that aims to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the sustainable use of energy – to observe its electric vehicle programme over the next three months. “We’re particularly disappointed that, after a lengthy consultation process with Transport for London, the goalposts have moved at the last minute and new rules are now being introduced that will be bad for both drivers and tech companies like Uber”, said Elvidge.
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Alan Andrews, a lawyer at environmental law firm ClientEarth, said: “This is a step in the right direction”.
