Anna’s planting the seeds for the sustainable future of mobility

Anna Brito, Head of Strategy and Planning for ANZ Mobility, based in Sydney, lives and breathes Uber’s mission to reimagine the way the world moves for the better. Her focus on sustainability involves leading our electric vehicle strategy in ANZ, thinking through how we can redesign our cities for the better and continuing to evolve our product offering to drive a shift away from private car ownership. 

Anna is working on things that will change the future of mobility while having a real impact on our planet today—it really is life-affirming work. Below, she shares her thoughts on what seeds she needs to plant today to ensure a sustainable future for Uber, society and our planet.

“We are in year three of a multi-year electrification journey in ANZ, where we have been seeing strong momentum. One example is the recent announcement we made launching Comfort Electric, the first fully electric rideshare product available in Australia, alongside a landmark partnership with EV Direct to make 10,000 BYD Atto 3 electric vehicles (EVs) available to Uber driver partners and couriers. EVs in Australia are still relatively expensive, so we knew getting access to more affordable EVs at scale would be a game changer.  And so, off the back of all the good work and investments we’ve done in helping drivers electrify, I reached out to Luke Todd, CEO of EV Direct, to see how we could work together. We are seeing some great initial interest and uptake by driver partners of the offer.

The really exciting thing is that this is the first deal Uber has made with BYD globally at this scale. I feel really fortunate that here in Australia, we can test and learn new thinking that can then serve as a blueprint for other parts of Uber globally.”

“Electrification is a very hard problem, but fortunately it’s one that a lot of stakeholders, across government and industry, are working on solving. So I am optimistic that the work we are doing, plus the winds of change, will help us reach our commitment of 100% zero emissions by 2040. 

But electrification is one part of the problem, at the same time we are trying to solve the issue of private car ownership. Australia and New Zealand have some of the highest rates of private car ownership globally. That means more emissions and cities that have been built, and continue to be built, prioritising private cars over people. If we want to bend the curve and limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius (as per the Paris Agreement), electrification is not enough. We need both EVs and a shift towards other shared modes of transport, including walking, cycling, micromobility, public transport, and ridesharing / carsharing. 

Despite the massively positive benefit that living a car-light life can have for individuals and society, it’s not something most people do here because it’s quite uncommon and difficult in Australia and New Zealand. The pain points of giving up your car are very salient given how car-centric our cities are, while the benefits to the individual are not as readily felt.    

So solving this private car ownership problem is possibly the most important and life-affirming things I can work on. It’s not only intellectually stimulating, but has the promise of high impact for our business, our cities, and our planet. And as a mother, I know this is one of the best shots I have of preserving the planet for my daughter, her kids and future generations.”

“Our value See the forest and the trees really holds true for what we do everyday in the Strategy and Planning (S&P) team. One moment, we are delving deep into the details of how our business performed last week, while the next we are stepping back and thinking about consumer growth in 2026 and beyond. 

Or even what our cities might look like 10+ years from now and what seeds I need to plant today to ensure a more sustainable future. While you’ll often find me running between meetings, what’s most important to me is making time for the S&P team so we can jam in whiteboarding sessions. We’re tackling significant, complex problems that have never been addressed before, and getting to tackle these with my team is where the real excitement lies.”

“Honestly, we have so many! The announcement to make 10,000 BYD electric vehicles available to Uber driver partners and couriers is probably one of my most proud moments, and not just because it’s the most recent! It was a long time in the making and it will positively impact so many drivers and riders. It was really special when we announced we were investing $26 million in EV driver incentives and the first time I got into an Uber EV, but I think this BYD announcement is the next stage in our EV growth. If we can get 10,000 drivers into EVs, we’re going to materially change the emissions landscape of Australia. And that’s BIG.”

“Aside from our continued efforts in the electrification and car ownership spaces, we also need to continue focusing on our consumer value proposition. We have many different products so now it’s about looking across them and making sure we’re solving the right problems for our customers. That is going to be a big priority for us next year. With car ownership specifically, I’m excited about the possibilities off the back of the success of the One Less Car trial we did earlier this year. We’re at the forefront of thinking in this space at Uber, so figuring out how we go from pilot to something larger and then scale globally will keep us busy next year.”

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