Larisa Manescu, Sierra Club, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
Nico Muzi, Transport and Environment, nico.muzi@transportenvironment.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As reported in Forbes today, the Sierra Club joined a coalition of European NGOs, including Europe's leading clean transport campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), in the launch of a global campaign targeting ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft for their worsening environmental footprint.
The campaign, launching on social media with a Sierra Club video and T&E photos under #TrueCostofUber and #TrueCostofLyft, is amplifying new findings from T&E that show that Uber is adding more air pollution to already car-clogged European cities. The new findings confirm that cities in European face the same challenges from the rise of ride-hailing as do U.S. cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, where data has shown that Uber and Lyft has added millions of miles traveled in the nation’s largest and densest areas while pulling riders away from transit.
Sierra Club’s video promotes a petition that urges Uber and Lyft to clean up their act, electrify at a much bolder rate than they’ve currently committed to, and become true leaders in our much-needed transition to clean transportation choices.
“Uber and Lyft aren’t fooling anyone anymore with their greenwashing. Cities and countries around the world are beginning to see the companies for what they are: Corporate players putting profit over planet. You can’t claim sustainability if the data proves you’re doing the opposite-- reducing transit ridership, worsening our air quality, and mistreating the people at the heart of your business model,” said Rebekah Whilden, Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club.
“Uber’s CEO tells us they ‘do the right thing, period.’ But the reality is that Uber is part of the traffic and pollution problem, adding car trips in our cities and adding to the climate and pollution crisis. If it wants to become part of the solution Uber needs to stop using petrol and diesel cars and rapidly shift to 100% electric rides. That’s the right thing to do, full stop,” said Yoann Le Petit, new mobility expert with Transport and Environment.
The coalition includes the following environmental organisations: Sierra Club (USA), Nabu (Germany), Respire (France), MilieuDefensie (Netherlands), Campaigning for Better Transport (UK), Bond Beter Leefmilieu (Belgium), Les Chercheurs d’Air (Brussels) and Transport & Environment (Europe).
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.