Uber going electric in Vancouver, BC

[alarmguy]

Uber is not transitioning to electric vehicles. Uber does not own vehicles.
Uber is going to have an option in the app for an electric vehicle
That means the person ordering an Uber ride through their app will have the option to select electric vehicle

There’s really nothing more to the story than that from what I just read

 

[Snagglefoot]

Uber is not transitioning to electric vehicles. Uber does not own vehicles.
Uber is going to have an option in the app for an electric vehicle
That means the person ordering an Uber ride through their app will have the option to select electric vehicle

There’s really nothing more to the story than that from what I just read

Twenty five percent ALL Uber kilometers in Vancouver are already in electric vehicles ( including hybrids). The goal is to move this to EV’s. It starts with the green option but my vary well go to the entire line. It depends if they can attract EV owners in the numbers they require. Time will tell.

 

[jkhawaii]

Right - That's my question are they incentivizing EV drivers or just not going to hire people without EVs?

Part 2 - Why does Uber care - if the customers get from point A - Point B and are happy with the service then that's all they should give a flip about IMO.

Well… don’t you want to save the planet? lol

 

[demarpaint]

So will that force Uber drivers out of ICE vehicles, or do they look for employment elsewhere?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Right now if you arrange for an Uber ride in Vancouver, you might get an electric vehicle ( probably a hybrid), and if you select the green option you WILL get an electric vehicle ( again probably a hybrid but maybe an EV). However, you might have to wait longer for one to be available because only 1 in 4 Uber drivers have “ electric” cars. So there is a possibility you might have an inconvenience on your hands.

If a person applies to be an Uber Driver with a hybrid or better yet, an EV, I imagine you’ll go to the front of the line. If the plans worked out, eventually a person applying to be an Uber driver with an ICE car might be turned down.

Any Uber drivers from Vancouver in the audience?

 

[DuckRyder]

Well… don’t you want to save the planet? lol

Well that's an entirely different debate....

Basically I think companies should (and would be well served by) have no concern/opinion over anything except the satisfaction of their customers with the service and the viability of the business.

Now if there is genuine regulatory pressure on this issue sure, they need to be concerned about that.

 

[Snagglefoot]

So will that force Uber drivers out of ICE vehicles, or do they look for employment elsewhere?

If Elon has his way, they’ll be looking for employment elsewhwere anyway.

 

[demarpaint]

If Elon has his way, they’ll be looking for employment elsewhwere anyway.

Maybe. Probably still a couple of decades or more away from being ready for prime time.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Maybe. Probably still a couple of decades or more away from being ready for prime time.

A couple of decades? You can ride in an autonomous cab right now with Waymo. Www.waymo.com

 

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

Uber Green has been around in other areas afaik. It costs marginally more than UberX and I believe the Uber Green driver is paid the extra fee. Any incentive to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels is always welcomed, but sometimes it's hard to tell with all the green washing.

I've seen the BZ4X used as taxis which I found surprising, given their poor range and charging rate. A taxi driver told me they receive government subsidies to purchase hybrids, and possibly EVs now?

 

[demarpaint]

A couple of decades? You can ride in an autonomous cab right now with Waymo. Www.waymo.com

How about NY, or other densely populated areas where Uber cars are all over the place? That to me is what I consider prime time in the USA.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Uber Green has been around in other areas afaik. It costs marginally more than UberX and I believe the Uber Green driver is paid the extra fee. Any incentive to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels is always welcomed, but sometimes it's hard to tell with all the green washing.

I've seen the BZ4X used as taxis which I found surprising, given their poor range and charging rate. A taxi driver told me they receive government subsidies to purchase hybrids, and possibly EVs now?

Yes, you can get up to $9,000 CDN in rebates on a new EV in British Columbia.

 

[Snagglefoot]

How about NY, or other densely populated areas where Uber cars are all over the place? That to me is what I consider prime time in the USA.

To be honest one of the biggest problems with operating in New York will be winter road grime. It covers the camera lenses. The Waymo cities are S.F., LA, Phoenix and Austin with very little road grime and with a technology friendly administration.

 

[demarpaint]

To be honest one of the biggest problems with operating in New York will be winter road grime. It covers the camera lenses. The Waymo cities are S.F., LA, Phoenix and Austin with very little road grime and with a technology friendly administration.

The entire North East is like that to be honest. It will be a very long time before they become a threat to Uber drivers imo.

 

[dubber09]

Those gov rebates is nothing but money from taxes gov collects.
Also, autonomous taxis is not an option in Vancouver imho, not only those taxis will get into accidents at high rate but also will cause others to cause accidents at much higher rate esp with what we call 'Richmond drivers' around here, they are already confused bad drivers who confuse others around them with their driving actions and road communications.

 

[Sedin26]

Those gov rebates is nothing but money from taxes gov collects.
Also, autonomous taxis is not an option in Vancouver imho, not only those taxis will get into accidents at high rate but also will cause others to cause accidents at much higher rate esp with what we call 'Richmond drivers' around here, they are already confused bad drivers who confuse others around them with their driving actions and road communications.

Drivers are bad everywhere. Autonomous vehicles will have to deal with that wherever they’re deployed.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Those gov rebates is nothing but money from taxes gov collects.
Also, autonomous taxis is not an option in Vancouver imho, not only those taxis will get into accidents at high rate but also will cause others to cause accidents at much higher rate esp with what we call 'Richmond drivers' around here, they are already confused bad drivers who confuse others around them with their driving actions and road communications.

It seems you are saying drivers are the problem? At least self driving vehicles might follow the rules of the road.

 

[jkhawaii]

So, it’s going to be more expensive.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Those gov rebates is nothing but money from taxes gov collects.
Also, autonomous taxis is not an option in Vancouver imho, not only those taxis will get into accidents at high rate but also will cause others to cause accidents at much higher rate esp with what we call 'Richmond drivers' around here, they are already confused bad drivers who confuse others around them with their driving actions and road communications.

Haha, yep, except that the BC government has not collected it, it just comes from the 8 billion dollar deficit they are running this fiscal year.