We’ve introduced a new feature that will provide Australian riders with more visibility about their environmental impact and encourage more sustainable choices when using the Uber app. With Emission Savings, riders can now see an estimation of the CO₂ emissions they avoided when riding with Uber Green or Comfort Electric.

Just like we popularised rider ratings in an effort to promote respectful behaviour on the platform, we’re excited to introduce Rider Emission Savings so riders can better understand their estimated carbon emissions impact.

Your estimated CO₂ emissions savings are calculated based on Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric rides and the amount of tailpipe emissions avoided compared to UberX or Uber Comfort trips of the same distance in your city. 

Anna Brito, Head of Sustainability, Strategy & Planning for Uber Australia and New Zealand said: “We know Aussies love nothing more than a friendly rivalry, and with competition in the air this week we are calling on our riders, including blues and maroons fans, to back a different colour: green. We want to make it effortless for our riders to embrace a lower-emissions lifestyle, and we hope this new feature encourages Aussies to reconsider their habits when it comes to greener ways of travelling.” 

In the first quarter of the year alone, Australians took 1.86 million EV trips with the more than 4,000 driver partners who currently have an EV on the Uber platform (that’s more than 20,000 trips in zero-emissions vehicles every day!). In addition, more than 4 percent of kilometres travelled on the Uber platform were taken by electric vehicles in Q1.

But we know that there is still more to be done. Uber Green is the same price as an UberX, and we believe there is potential for Green to become the ride of choice for our users. And to get us there, we believe knowledge is power. The Emission Savings feature makes it possible for Australians to see the positive impact they are having on the environment, in real time, whenever they choose to use Uber Green or Uber Comfort Electric.

With the Emission Savings feature, you can: 

  • Tap a button, see your impact: In the Account section of the Uber app, tap “Estimated CO₂ saved” to see all of the tailpipe emissions you’ve saved by taking Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric.
  • Make sense of your savings: Riders tell us it would be helpful to see how their emission savings add up. We’ve included a graphic that compares your estimated CO₂ emissions savings to everyday examples. 
  • See how your emissions are calculated: The emission savings for an Uber Green or Uber Comfort Electric trip represents the estimated amount of CO₂ emissions avoided, on average, when a rider takes Uber Green instead of an UberX trip of the same distance. You can read more about the methodology here. 
  • See a greener future: In the future, we plan to include even more products in your emission savings calculation including all-electric rides, and rides on e-bikes and e-scooters booked in the Uber app.

We’re committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from the Uber platform by 2040, and today is an important step in our journey to help inform riders about the impact of their choices and encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport. 

At Uber, we are working to build a future of transportation that is electric, shared, and at times car-free, because greener choices mean a greener future.