Uber London Launches 'Uber Green:' Fully Electric Vehicles Now Control Roads for The First Time

Uber recently launched a new service allowing customers in central London to book an all-electric vehicle, according to Financial Times' report on Monday, March 29.

Called Uber Green, the new service launching in London's Zone 1 is the ride-sharing app's move to push all London drivers to use electric vehicles (EV) by 2025.

The travel cost will be the same as booking a regular UberX journey, and drivers of the EVs will enjoy a higher fare for every trip.

"We continue to partner with drivers to help them make the switch to electric and today we are excited to start offering riders the option to select an electric vehicle at no extra cost, allowing everyone using Uber to play their part in cleaning up urban transport," Jamie Heywood, Uber's EU general manager, said in a statement.

Uber's 'Clean Air Plan'

According to Engadget's report, Uber had offered to reduce 15 percent of its usual service fees to incentivize its drivers to switch to EVs.

Uber also had begun adding a clean air fee of 15 pence ($.20) per mile since January 2019 as part of the company's "Clean Air Plan," to help drivers with the cost of switching to greener cars.

The decision resulted in a boost in the number of EVs operating in London from 100 to 1,600 and raised a total of £125 million ($172 million).

Heywood explained that Uber is seizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to "drive a green recovery" as cities begin to open up and are now moving to ensure all cars on the ride-sharing app in London are fully electric.

Uber Drivers in London Now Classified as Workers

Uber will now classify its UK-based drivers as workers starting March 17, after the company lost the decisive legal battle on February 19.

UK's Supreme Court ruled that Uber's 70,000 drivers must be entitled to legal rights and protections.

The court decision prompted Uber to provide its British drivers benefits such as minimum wage and paid holiday time at a rate of 12.07 percent of their earnings.

In addition to the ruling, Uber added that they would be allocating approximately three percent of the drivers' pay towards their pension. However, Uber will only offer the plan to eligible drivers.

Following the ruling, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that instead of dispute the court's decision, the company decided to "turn the page."

"This is a significant improvement in the standard of work for UK drivers," the CEO wrote in an op-ed published on The Evening Standard on March 17.

Khosrowshahi added that the ruling gave the company a direction to build a business model that provides protection to drivers while continuing them to enjoy work flexibility since driving with Uber.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Lee Mercado