NYC Mayor Eric Adams addressed quite a few issues in his most recent State of the City address, one aspect being a curbside composting program coming to all 5 boroughs. But in addition to that, Adams announced that by 2030 all NYC Ubers and Lyfts will be fully electric.
The plan coincides with Adams’ commitment to reduce building emissions to create a healthier and more sustainable city, doing so through electrifying the city’s vehicle fleet.
“Today, we are announcing that Uber and Lyft will be required to have a zero-emissions fleet by 2030. That’s zero emissions for over 100,000 vehicles on our city streets. And it will be achieved with no new costs for individual drivers. We’re pleased that both companies are embracing this shift, and we look forward to working with them to get it done,” stated Mayor Adams.
Charging stations will be added throughout all five boroughs, and Mayor Adams is also encouraging New Yorkers who drive themselves to also make the switch to electric vehicles.
Uber and Lyft are both reportedly supporting the plan, both of which have already begun taking steps to incentivize their drivers to swap their gas-powered cars for electric ones, according to The Verge.
“We applaud the Mayor’s ambition for reducing emissions, an important goal we share,” Josh Gold, senior director of policy at Uber, reportedly said in a statement. “Uber has been making real progress to become the first zero-emissions mobility platform in North America, and there’s much more to do.”
“New York’s commitment will accelerate an equitable city-wide transition to electric, and we’re eager to collaborate with the TLC on an ambitious plan for a rideshare clean mile standard.” added Paul Augustine, Lyft’s director of sustainability.
Both companies said they aim for their fleet to be 100% electric by 2030.
Moreover, this definitely isn’t the first time NYC has made the switch, or at least planned to, to electric vehicles. Back in 2019 the MTA announced plans to roll out an all-electric bus fleet by 2040, and the plan to make the change to 100% electric school buses by 2035 was announced in April of 2021.
Other companies are jumping on the bandwagon as well–UPS launched electric quad cycles in NYC for a new delivery pilot program in June of last year, and even the city’s electric Citi Bikes saw a major upgrade in May of last year.
We definitely look forward to NYC’s future, which will be “cleaner, greener, and healthier for all,” according to Mayor Adams.