Uber has revealed a series of features to help its drivers and readers prioritise sustainability, including new tools and increased work to enable EV take-up.

Customers using the Green and Comfort Electric rides can now see the CO2 savings

Speaking at its Go-Get Zero event, the company’s first-ever global sustainability product event, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said: “We’re going to make it easier to drive green. We’re going to make it easier to ride green.”

The event was hosted in London – where Uber says its journey to sustainability began. While the ride-hailing giant has committed to electrifying every ride on its platform by 2040, it has earlier targets to be fully electric in London by 2025 and across the UK by 2030, as announced in 2021.

In the last year, Uber has tripled the EVs on its platform in the last year and now has 60,000 drivers going electric across North America and Europe.

But in London – which is the “leader in electrification” due to “world-leading policies in London and the UK to lower emissions and clean up transport” – Uber has 10,000 drivers in EVs. As a result, while one in 20 miles driven in North America are electric, this rises to one in 10 miles in major cities in Europe and one in five in London.

This has been led by London spearheading the Uber Green service, which charges riders the same fee as for a conventionally fuelled vehicle, while paying drivers more per trip to encourage the switch to electric vehicles.

Today’s enhancements build on this further and include a pledge to bring Uber Eats into the sustainability mission. Pledges are two-fold: for all Uber Eats couriers to use zero-emission vehicles by 2040, supporting plans to eliminate emissions on all Uber Eats deliveries globally by 2040, and end all unnecessary plastic waste from deliveries by 2030.

Uber is also continuing its work to make it easier for ride-hailing drivers to go electric; last year saw the introduction of an EV Hub where drivers can get information on electric vehicle practicalities such as charging. It’s also providing ‘EV Ambassadors’ to give guidance on making the switch and new tools to make it easier for drivers to compare the costs of going electric.

Customers using the Green and Comfort Electric rides can now also see the fruits of their choices via an Emissions Savings feature, located in the app’s Account page and revealing the CO2 savings.

It’s also further rolling out the Eco-friendly Routes service, which revises mapping algorithms to be more fuel efficient when possible.

Drivers and riders can now also benefit from new perks to encourage them to go green for airport rides, including lower fares and exclusive access to dedicated pickup zones in preferred locations at the airport.

EV drivers can also access discounted, or even free access to fast chargers in the driver waiting zone – Heathrow will be one of the first sites to pioneer this.

Drivers can access smart charging features, giving real-time insights on charging prices, charging time, and traffic to recommend when and where drivers should charge. And Uber is launching 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.

Other work includes the expansion of the Uber Carshare service from Australia into North America, first in Boston and Toronto. Meanwhile, Uber Green now arrives in Australia.

It’s also launching the UberX Share service in 18 more cities, enabling more riders to share their trip, cut emissions, and save money when matched with a co-rider along the way.

Uber Eats has also launched a new Green Packaging feature to easily find and choose restaurants that use recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging.

Khosrowshahi said: “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.”