Lyft adds EVs, ‘green mode’ to ride-hailing app

Your chances of riding in an electric vehicle just went up: Lyft users will soon be able to request a zero-emission or hybrid vehicle directly from the home screen of the app.

Starting in Seattle soon, Lyft is adding “Green Mode” to the ride-hailing app. This is a new feature to encourage emission-free ride-hailing. Using the new setting, passengers can request an electric vehicle through the app and get matched with a battery-powered (or hybrid) car for their ride.

Lyft says the new feature will likely be rolled out to other cities after the Seattle pilot.

To get more electric vehicles on the road, Lyft is offering more non-gasoline options through its driver car leasing program, Express Drive. Lyft didn’t specify which car models it will offer through the rental program. Drivers will get free unlimited charging as part of their weekly lease rate. For drivers, leasing an EV through Lyft’s program means no fuel costs. 

Drivers in Seattle and Atlanta now have more electric options when leasing a ride-share vehicle and eventually more cities will offer more EVs. General Motor’s Maven Gig is a similar car rental program for ride-share drivers and already offers electric options to rent — but for a higher weekly price.

Last year, Lyft committed to carbon neutrality, but many of the cars on the platform are still gas guzzlers. And since Lyft doesn’t own or operate its fleet it relies on the vehicles that drivers have — or rent. Only 1 percent of all U.S. car sales in 2017 were electric. So chances are much higher that a gas-reliant Hyundai Sonata will pick you up than an all-electric Chevy Bolt.

Of course, Lyft already has its own electric vehicles on the road: e-scooters.