Ride-hailing app Uber is investing £5 million to help install 700 new on-street electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the London boroughs of Newham, Brent, and Redbridge.
This is the first time that boroughs have worked with a ride-hailing company to directly install chargers on London’s streets. The chargers will be Uber branded and available for everyone to use. Uber will work with each borough to determine where chargers should be installed.
Uber said it has more than 5,000 EVs on its app in London, driving over one million electric miles per week. It said it was on track to more than double this number by the end of the year and to become an all-electric platform in the capital by 2025. It said more than 90% of new vehicles joining the Uber app were fully electric, compared to 11.6% of new vehicles in the mass market in 2021.
Jamie Heywood, Uber general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe said: “By targeting investment where it is most needed, we are confident that thousands more drivers will make the switch to electric, allowing them to benefit from lower running costs and higher earnings on Uber. Ensuring that everyone can access EV charging will spark a mass transition to electric vehicles and help drive London towards a greener future.”
Later this year, Uber plans to expand its EV-only option ‘Uber Green’ from Zone One to the whole of London – meaning that riders will be able to request an electric vehicle from anywhere in the city for the same price as a normal UberX.