Uber, the transportation network company which provides various services such as car sharing and food delivery services in over 850 cities in 84 countries, is going to introduce a Clean Air Plan in London, with the aim to alleviate air pollution in UK.
Under the plan, one important goal is to turn every car registered on the app into electric vehicle in 2025, so that there would be a decrease in the gas emissions in London and the air quality can be improved. Since Uber plans to raise and invest £200 million dollars for providing financial assistance to drivers for upgrading their cars into electric ones, a ‘clean air fee’ of 15 pence per mile will be introduced. As a result, starting from early 2019, the price of each trip will be increased, and it is expected that the average increase in fare will be around 45 pence per trip.
It is expected that Uber’s Clean Air Plan may come with the difficulty regarding charging network. In order to facilitate the process of going electric, Uber will collaborate with various charging suppliers, so that more charging options can be provided to its drivers, thus allowing them to charge their cars conveniently and efficiently in the streets of London or even at home.
Furthermore, another challenge comes from the opposition from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain. The union is not supportive of Uber’s Clean Air Plan and expressed concerns about the huge financial burden that might be faced by Uber’s drivers in London as many of them earn little income which is not enough for affording an electric vehicle.
Uber’s Clean Air Plan also reveals the increasing popularity of electric vehicles. The use of private cars has long been identified as one major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and countries around the world, such as China, the US and many European countries, have been trying to tackle air pollution by developing and promoting the use of electric cars, so that electric vehicles may gradually become a global trend.
