Electrifying an Uber or Lyft car can save three times more carbon than a personally owned EV
Replacing a gas-powered ride-hailing vehicle with an electric vehicle can deliver three times the carbon benefits of a personally owned electric vehicle, according to a University of California, Davis, study of Uber and Lyft data published in the journal Nature Energy.
That’s because ride-hailing vehicles travel more miles than personal vehicles, making them more efficient. Also, they typically charge during the day, when a greater quantity of solar energy is powering the grid.
“Electric vehicles are beneficial, and that benefit is larger if you’re traveling more miles and charging from renewable sources during the day,” said lead author Alan Jenn, a professional researcher at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.
Both Uber and Lyft are converting more of their fleet to electric, and Lyft recently committed to becoming 100 percent electric by 2030.
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