Photo by iStockphoto.com/jetcityimage
Advocacy works.
Ride-hailing company Uber just announced that by 2030, its platform will connect US riders to electric vehicles -- cars, bikes, and scooters -- 100 percent of the time. This news came just a few months after Lyft made the same commitment.
Done right, these commitments will cut millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, slash air pollution that exacerbates major health problems, and offer major savings for ride-hail drivers.
Make no mistake: The commitments were largely the result of activists telling the companies to clean up their act. The companies were held accountable for polluting and are putting forth a path to electrify, reduce emissions, and lift up public transit and micro-mobility in the next 10 years.
Tens of thousands of people pushed both companies to commit to 2030, not lag until later years when climate impacts will become more and more difficult to reverse without bold and urgent action.
This is an example of the power of advocacy. From working to decommission a fossil fuel power plant in my hometown, to working with my neighbors to pass transformative climate change legislation, I’ve seen firsthand what a committed group of activists can do if they work together. By bringing allies to the table, creating spaces where everyone who fights for justice is welcome, and focusing our collective power to make change, we were able to bring about a policy change from the two largest ride-hailing companies in the world.
How did we get here?
Just over a year ago, we launched a campaign to pressure Uber and Lyft to lead, not lag, on climate action. The companies were still hiding behind claims of sustainability while the evidence mounted that they were doing environmental harm to cities. They claimed that they were transforming the way we got around and reducing the need for personal car ownership. But we got more pollution and congestion instead. For companies that called themselves transformative, they were worsening the underlying issues plaguing our transportation systems: Too many miles driven in cars powered by fossil fuels, dirtying our air.
From hard-hitting videos, coverage in national media like The Washington Post, savvy digital efforts that raised tens of thousands of petition signatures, and flyering at electric vehicle conferences last year, we let the companies know exactly what the problem was and what we expected of them.
Sierra Club campaigner Hieu Le flyering at Forth’s Roadmap Electric Vehicle Conference in Portland, Oregon (June 2019)
They heard the call for change. Uber’s announcement this week explicitly names the climate crisis as their impetus to act.
The Uber and Lyft commitments to 100 percent electric vehicle rides on their platforms mark significant milestones that the many activists who pushed for these goals should celebrate. But these announcements are not the end of the road. Both Uber and Lyft have said that the onus of the switch to 100 percent electric vehicles will not fall on the drivers. We are here to ensure that remains the case and to continue holding each company accountable to these promises, just as we've held them accountable to admitting they have a pollution problem and to working on an action plan to change the status quo.
We are not alone in this work. We have worked alongside other NGOs -- including European partners like Transport and Environment, in the case of Uber -- in pushing these ride-hailing companies to do better. We're grateful that groups like EVNoire, Union of Concerned Scientists, Environmental Defense Fund, and World Resources Institute also pushed (and in some cases partnered with) the companies to do better. We’ve been talking to labor unions, drivers, and policy experts from across the country about how to make this transition and to ensure that the onus of paying for the shift to clean transportation doesn’t fall on ride-hail drivers.
Only time will tell, but what we do know is that we won’t be letting up on the pressure. If you’ve heard the good news this week, thank an activist!