First California pilot will make EVs available to drivers on the Lyft platform
Lyft and its rental car partner Flexdrive are joining with Peninsula Clean Energy to expand electric vehicle (EV) use in ride-hailing in San Mateo County and beyond.
As part of the Ride-Hail Electrification Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind program in California launching this fall, Peninsula Clean Energy will provide $500,000 for a rental incentive to ride-hailing drivers to make the cost of renting an EV comparable to a gasoline-powered vehicle.
The program will also ensure EV onboarding for drivers; collect detailed driver utilization and charging data that can better inform and facilitate further expansion among the ride-hailing fleet; and test and help create recommendations for further efforts.
The initial goal of the pilot program is to expand EV use to roughly 100 Lyft vehicles used in San Mateo County. By doing so, the program will prevent 200,000 gallons of gas usage, thousands of tons of greenhouse gases, and save ride-hail drivers more than $750,000 in combined cost.
“At Lyft, we’ve committed to reaching 100% electric vehicles on the network by 2030 and partnerships like our collaboration with Peninsula Clean Energy will help propel us toward our goal,” said Jon Walker, Sustainability Policy Manager, Lyft. “Through this program, we can make EVs more accessible and help ensure that their benefits are distributed equitably and experienced by drivers and communities.”
“Partnering with Lyft and Flexdrive in this pilot effort represents a big opportunity to reduce a significant source of heat-trapping emissions in our region,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said. “We believe this can eventually lead to a far greater number of ride-hailing and other drivers on the road who will opt for cleaner electrified transportation options.”
About Lyft
Lyft was founded in 2012 and is one of the largest transportation networks in the United States and Canada. As the world shifts away from car ownership to transportation-as-a-service, Lyft is at the forefront of this massive societal change. Our transportation network brings together rideshare, bikes, scooters, car rentals and transit all in one app. We are singularly driven by our mission: to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation.
About Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and, beginning in 2022, for the City of Los Banos. Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county, the agency serves 295,000 customers by providing more than 3,500 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is 100 percent carbon-free and at lower cost than PG&E. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in our communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100 percent renewable by 2025. The agency has earned investment grade credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch. Follow us at PenCleanEnergy.com, on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.