People waiting for an Uber should be patient and wait a few minutes longer for an electric car to travel in a more environmentally-friendly way, according to the boss of the ride-hailing firm.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme this morning Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said: “A couple of minutes isn’t going to kill anyone”.
Uber has options to encourage customers to choose electric rides, and it has sustainability targets that all of its car journeys and deliveries should be carried out in “zero emissions vehicles” by 2040.
Most cars providing the Uber service are still petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicles, so it is likely customers will have to wait a little longer for an EV to arrive.
In London, almost a third of Uber drivers run an EV, so waiting times may be quicker. But EV uptake is lower elsewhere in the UK and worldwide. For example, in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, Madrid and Paris only 20% of the miles driven by Uber vehicles are fully electric.
Khosrowshahi said that any increased waiting time for an EV will be marginal “We’re not saying, hey, wait 15 minutes, but if you have to wait another two, three minutes to help the environment, why not make that investment?,” he said.
He also urged the government to do its bit by sticking to its pre-election pledge and end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, after the previous government pushed the deadline back to 2035.
He also said that governments worldwide should be doing more to support sales of electric vehicles, and that “high quality” Chinese-made EVs are part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Despite that, many countries are pushing back against the import of Chinese EVs with higher tariffs because they see them as unfair competition for domestic carmakers.
