Lyft, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund, is committing to reach 100 percent electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030.
By working with drivers to transition to electric vehicles, Lyft says it has the potential to avoid tens of millions of metric tons of GHG emissions to the atmosphere and to reduce gasoline consumption by more than a billion gallons over the next decade.
“Now more than ever, we need to work together to create cleaner, healthier and more equitable communities,” said John Zimmer, co-founder and president, Lyft. “Success breeds success, and if we do this right, it creates a path for others. If other rideshare and delivery companies, automakers and rental car companies make this shift, it can be the catalyst for transforming transportation as a whole."
Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund added, “As we move to repair the COVID-battered global economy, we have a chance to rebuild better and create a cleaner, more prosperous and more equitable future. Getting there will require investing in clean energy to create jobs and reduce pollution, and radically shifting how we move people and products. Lyft’s commitment accelerates momentum toward this future and sets the standard for other tech and transportation leaders to follow suit.”
The path to zero emissions
The shift to 100-percent electric vehicles (EVs) for Lyft will mean transitioning all vehicles used on the Lyft platform over the next ten years to all-electric or other zero-emission technologies. This includes cars in the Express Drive rental car partner program for rideshare drivers, the consumer rental car program for riders, the autonomous vehicle program and drivers’ personal cars used on the Lyft platform.
Lyft says it believes the potential benefits to drivers are very significant. Although the upfront cost of EVs today is higher than gas-powered cars, EVs have lower fuel and maintenance costs that mean lower costs for drivers over the life of the vehicle. Lyft notes it sees this already with drivers renting cars through Express Drive, who currently save an average of $50-70 per week on fuel costs alone. And Lyft expects these savings to increase over time as the cost of EV batteries continues to come down.
But at the end of the day, Lyft says meeting this commitment is on the company, not on drivers. By working with policymakers and partners, and harnessing the power of the driver community, Lyft says it can drive down the cost of EVs, expand EV incentives and infrastructure and help drivers switch to electric over time in a way that is cost-effective, sustainable and profitable.
In 2018, the company made all rides on its platform carbon-neutral through its carbon offsets program. This was a first step Lyft could take to immediately mitigate GHG emissions on the platform. But Lyft explains it has reached a scale that requires the company to do more. The scale gives Lyft the power to drive change by reducing GHG emissions from cars used on its platform. So, Lyft is ending its carbon offsets program to allow it to focus efforts on direct decarbonization through the switch to EVs. While this means net emissions from cars used on the Lyft platform may increase in the short term, shifting to 100 percent EVs will lead to lower emissions over the long term.
Lyft says it has already begun the work needed to get there. Last year, the company launched hundreds of EVs onto the Lyft platform through Express Drive in Seattle, Atlanta and Denver. In Colorado, for example, Lyft built on the leadership of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and policymakers to allow Express Drive rental partners’ vehicles to be eligible for state tax incentives. This win-win enabled the introduction of hundreds of new EVs in the greater Denver area.
But to reach the commitment by the end of 2030, Lyft says it will need to harness the power of Lyft and its partners to drive radical change. It will require the collective action of industry, government and nonprofit organizations to overcome the two significant barriers currently preventing wide-scale electrification: up-front cost of the vehicle and access to reliable, affordable charging. So Lyft will be working with the experts at Environmental Defense Fund and other environmental leaders to accelerate progress towards its commitment. This will include advancing a policy roadmap and catalyzing the development of tools to help drivers electrify. And the company is also joining The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative to help kick-start the work. As the newest member of EV100, Lyft will be collaborating with a group of forward-looking companies committed to accelerating the transition to electric vehicles and making electric transport the new normal by 2030. The company says its commitment is a long-term effort and will provide periodic updates with key project milestones.
