February 14, 2020 9:00 AM EDT
I’m often asked, “How can ride-hailing companies electrify when the companies don’t own the vehicles?” Here are a few strategies, some of which ride-hailing companies are currently exploring, that if scaled up, can help accelerate electrification. Read more >
February 13, 2020 10:17 AM EDT
There are three significant changes coming to the market in the next decade that will make the economics of electric car ownership or leasing better for drivers: (1) EV upfront costs are dropping; (2) total cost of ownership is becoming competitive even with hybrids; and (3) on the charging front, deployment of DC fast charging infrastructure is growing and could accelerate with ride-hailing electrification. Read more >
January 17, 2020 9:49 AM EDT
Use of ride-hailing, like Uber and Lyft, has exploded since it was first introduced a decade ago, and continues to grow. These services are becoming a significant percentage of miles driven in some urban cores, raising concerns about congestion impacts, rising climate emissions, and impacts on transit systems. Addressing these challenges will be critical to ensuring that ride-hailing contributes to a more sustainable, equitable, and low-carbon transportation system that is so critically needed. In this blog series, I will tackle just one these challenges – pollution from ride-hailing – and focus on one critical strategy for getting ride-hailing on a lower carbon path – electrified rides.
October 31, 2019 1:11 PM EDT
Proposition D is a chance for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to contribute to a better transportation system in San Francisco. We at the Union of Concerned Scientists are supporting Proposition D, together with a long list of other supporters, including Uber and Lyft themselves, Mayor London Breed, the entire San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 25 other elected leaders, the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board, and 26 organizations committed to transit riders, bicycling and walking, tenants, and retirees, among other interests.
Read on for more information about what Proposition D will do and why this measure is important for reducing traffic and pollution and increasing safety and clean transportation choices. Most importantly, don’t forget to turn in your ballot by November 5, and to vote YES on Proposition D.
September 6, 2019 11:12 AM EDT
The Trump administration has been on a collision course with California, and it appears that collision is imminent. An administrative action to undermine the authority granted to the state by the Clean Air Act to protect its citizens from vehicle pollution appears to be imminent. This illegal attack is not just harmful for the nation’s most populous state—it is an attack on the 13 states and the District of Columbia that follow California’s lead and, ultimately, the entire country. The American auto industry and the American public will be worse off as a result.
