Lyft Commits to 100% EVs by 2030

Ridesharing company Lyft—in collaboration with Environmental Defense Fund—has commited to reach 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. By working with drivers to transition to electric vehicles, we have 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.

The shift to 100% 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, its consumer rental car program for riders, the autonomous vehicle program, and drivers’ personal cars used on the Lyft platform.

Lyft said that 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 said that drivers renting cars through Express Drive currently save an average of $50-70 per week on fuel costs alone. Lyft expects these savings to increase over time as the cost of EV batteries continues to come down.

In 2018, Lyft started a carbon-offsets program to make rides on the Lyft platform carbon-neutral. Lyft is now ending the carbon offsets program to focus 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% EVs will lead to lower emissions over the long term, Lyft said.

Last year Lyft launched hundreds of EVs onto the Lyft platform through Express Drive in Seattle, Atlanta, and Denver. However, to reach the 2030 goal 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, Lyft said.

Lyft will work with EDF and other environmental leaders to accelerate progress. This will include advancing a policy roadmap and catalyzing the development of tools to help drivers electrify.

Lyft is also joining The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative to help kick-start the work.