Intro Today at the Annual Go-Get product event in London, Uber revealed several new eco-friendly features and expansions. The company aims to make its global fleet environmentally friendly by encouraging EV selection by users to reduce emission and achieve its goal to go zero emission by 2040. By 2025, Uber plans to switch all minicabs in London to electric cars. They also introduced a new feature that will tell when and where the driver should recharge their EVs and suggest rides based on their battery levels. Furthermore, the company is expanding its Carshare services to North America and will collaborate with WWF and e-mobility companies. With this they aim to make all Uber Eats couriers to use zero emission vehicles.

Today, Uber introduced several new eco-friendly features, services, and expansions, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable transportation. There is a long list of interesting announcements made at Uber’s Annual Go-Get event, let’s accelerate.

Today was the second installment of the Annual Go-Get product event by Uber. Its 1st installment was held in New York last month that focused on family. With sustainability as the theme, the 2nd installment event was held in London.

On the stage, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO Uber said, “Uber was founded on the idea of making it absolutely easy for you to get from point A to B. Now we have to make it easier for the 130 million people who are coming onto our platform on a monthly basis to get from A to B — but in an environmentally sustainable manner. That’s going to be the NorthStar that we’re aiming for across the company. We’re going to make it easier to drive green. We’re going to make it easier to ride green.”

Uber aims for all London minicab drivers to switch to electric cars by 2025. Today the company said that Heathrow Airport will soon be among the several global airports to provide drop-off points in preferred locations for Uber EVs. According to Mr. Khosrowshahi, Uber has implemented a range of measures to achieve the impressive goal of having 10,000 EV drivers in London.

CEO Khosrowshahi also said, “Our London riders experience the greenest ways to use Uber in the world, by electric car, by bike, by scooter, hybrid boat, coach and now even the Eurostar. That’s no accident. World-leading policies in London and the UK to lower emissions and clean up transportation have had a significant impact, and are having a significant impact as we speak today.”

Uber CEO further added, “Our experience in London has set the stage for us now to begin to scale electrification on a global basis.” Some of these features comprise displaying alternatives to switching from regular fuel-powered vehicles and presenting trips based on the EV’s recharge schedule.

One particularly interesting new feature is coming to the driver app, too. Uber will use machine learning to suggest when and where drivers should recharge their electric vehicles. Uber will roll out this feature worldwide next year. It will consider real-time factors like traffic, charging costs, and time.

Uber’s battery-aware matching will also be included in this where trip requests are filtered in the driver app based on their battery level. With this more journeys will be completed closer to a sustainable charging station.

Uber Carshare For Rent

Uber acquired Australian P2P car rental startup Car Next Door last year and rebranded it as Uber Carshare 7 months ago. It is expanding Carshare services from Australia to North America. It is one of many interesting announcements made at Uber’s Annual Go-Get event.

People who have cars can rent them out to others and earn money through this service, with Uber taking a percentage of the payment. This is meant to encourage fewer people to own their own cars. Now the company is all set to bring Carshare to its first markets outside Australia, Boston and Toronto.

Here comes another of the interesting announcements made at Uber’s Annual Go-Get event. Uber Green riders, including those who choose premium electric cars from the Comfort Electric fleet, can now monitor the amount of CO2 emissions they have helped to save by opting for electric vehicles at no extra cost.

As a user, they will receive a badge and relevant data indicating that they belong to the top 10% of eco-friendly riders in their area. But this is not it because there is one particularly interesting new feature in-line for the driver app.

Uber updated its navigation algorithms to be more fuel efficient and now includes factors like hills and traffic lights features. Eco-friendly routes with in-app notifications will be available globally later this year and presently are available in North America.

Other reveals at Get-Go London event today include UberX Share, an updated version of Uber Pool which debuted last year. This is now available in more than 50 cities, including 18 new cities.

Also Read: Uber Will Fund a Buy-Back Program for E-Bikes to Combat the Battery Fire Issue in New York

All Uber Eats couriers to use zero emission vehicles by 2040

Other than new apps and features, Uber made some commitments around its business environmental impact. The company already committed that it will have emission-free vehicles in all of its fleet globally, but this claim is now extended to its Uber Eats food delivery platform too.

The company also said that it will end all unnecessary plastic waste by the end of this decade. Though it doesn’t make clear what they were referring to as unnecessary.

To support this mission, the company will team up with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and e-mobility companies to encourage more 2-wheeler vehicle to be used for deliveries.

With this all Uber Eats couriers to use zero emission vehicles by 2040. A new filter will be added to Uber Eats through which customers can choose restaurants that use sustainable packaging. As of now, it is launched in Amsterdam, London, New York City, Paris, and Taipei this year.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “We’re setting a goal to get 100% of couriers to use zero-emission vehicles by 2040 — all over the globe. Second, we’re committing by 2030 to end all unnecessary plastic waste on Uber Eats.

Getting your food is great on-demand, but getting it in plastic containers is not so great. And we want to end that. This, I have to tell you, is going to be very, very difficult. It’s a big challenge for us.

Lowering emissions on Eats is very much a natural extension of our own commitments going forward that we started with rides, but tackling plastics and waste is a whole new ballgame for us.”

Source: Uber

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Elliot is a passionate environmentalist and blogger who has dedicated his life to spreading awareness about conservation, green energy, and renewable energy. With a background in environmental science, he has a deep understanding of the issues facing our planet and is committed to educating others on how they can make a difference.

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