Web Desk:
According to the national media, New York City has a new climate plan to cut its carbon footprint that includes major rideshare changes.
All New York City Uber and Lyft rideshare vehicles must go fully electric by 2030, Mayor Eric Adams announced during his State of the City address last week.
Adams said that would mean zero emissions for over 100,000 vehicles on the city’s streets. He claimed that both companies are embracing the shift.
Both Uber and Lyft have already begun efforts to incentivize their workers to switch to electric vehicles.
“We are excited to partner with New York City on our journey,” Paul Augustine, director of sustainability at Lyft, said in a statement. “New York’s commitment will accelerate an equitable city-wide transition to electric, and we’re eager to collaborate with the TLC on an ambitious plan for a rideshare clean mile standard.”
“We applaud the Mayor’s ambition for reducing emissions, an important goal we share,” Josh Gold, senior director of policy at Uber, said in a statement. “Uber has been making real progress to become the first zero-emissions mobility platform in North America, and there’s much more to do.”
The city is currently working towards electrifying its fleet of vehicles. As of last September, 4,000 vehicles in the city fleet have been switched to electric vehicles.
“Uber and Lyft will be required to have a zero-emissions fleet by 2030. That’s zero emissions for over 100,000 vehicles on our city streets. And it will be achieved with no new costs for individual drivers,” Adams said in his address.
Adams will likely implement the plan through the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which manages the city’s rideshare industry, including Uber and Lyft.
New York City isn’t the only place in the country that has mandated all Uber and Lyft vehicles to be 100 percent electric. In 2021, the state of California adopted a new rule that required rideshare companies to make their entire fleets electric by 2030.
