Uber has famously had a driver and passenger rating since the beginning of the app’s roll out globally. That rating out of five might mean the difference between getting your ride in three minutes of six when you’re out on a busy night. Today, Uber rolls out another rating – your “Emission Saving” rating, so you can see how much of an impact your ride choices are having.
For some time now Uber has had the Green or Electric Options, allowing you to choose an Electric or Hybrid option for your next ride.
The new Rider Emissions Savings feature, found on your profile page, will give you an estimation of the Co2 Emissions you’ve avoided when making those choices.
Greenies will now be able to brag about their environmental impact and compare savings between mates – begging the questions – have you done enough?
Anna Brito, Head of Sustainability, Strategy & Planning for Uber Australia and New Zealand said We know Aussies love nothing more than a friendly rivalry, and with competition in the air this week we are calling on our riders, including blues and maroons fans, to back a different colour: green. We want to make it effortless for our riders to embrace a lower-emissions lifestyle, and we hope this new feature encourages Aussies to reconsider their habits when it comes to greener ways of travelling.”
Aussies are embracing the green choices on Uber, with 1.86 million EV trips in the first quarter of the year – which equates to 20,000 EV trips per day!
Uber has a goal of “eliminating tailpipe emissions” from Uber by 2040 – just one of the many lofty EV goals in the motoring industry, their ability to get there depends on users in the first instance.
It’s a great initiative, but what I think it lacks is a real sense of how often the “choice” to go electric was made. I don’t use Uber much, but do normally choose one of the green options – perhaps give me a rating of how often I’ve chosen the Green ride as a percentage of rides this year – that number is one we could all compare, no matter if you’re a heavy or light user of the Uber platform.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
