RMI and Uber Team Up to Expand Shared and Electric Mobility

RMI and Uber collaborated on an EV Pilot in Austin, Texas, to transition high-mileage rideshare drivers to electric vehicles. Through driver focus groups and education sessions, the project identified key barriers to adoption—including insufficient DC fast charging, range anxiety, and lack of awareness regarding cost savings—and developed strategies to address them, such as in-app notifications for riders and strategic charging infrastructure deployment by Austin Energy.

• High-mileage rideshare drivers are ideal candidates for EV transition because the cost difference between gasoline and electricity is significant; in Austin, gasoline drivers estimated spending $800–$1,000 per month on fuel, while EV drivers spent $30–$50 per month on charging.
• Drivers identified several barriers to EV adoption, specifically the lack of DC fast chargers (DCFCs), unreliable charging apps, and 'range anxiety' caused by the uncertainty of trip lengths, which sometimes led drivers to cancel rides.
• To support the transition, Uber is implementing in-app changes, including notifying riders when they are matched with an EV and adjusting the threshold for notifying EV drivers when they accept long trips.
• Austin Energy is utilizing focus group data to strategically deploy DCFC stations, supported by $1.6 million from the State of Texas Alternative Fueling Facilities Program.

APA

RMI (2018). RMI and Uber Team Up to Expand Shared and Electric Mobility. https://rmi.org/resources/rmi-and-uber-team-up-to-expand-shared-and-electric-mobility/

Chicago

RMI. RMI and Uber Team Up to Expand Shared and Electric Mobility. 2018. https://rmi.org/resources/rmi-and-uber-team-up-to-expand-shared-and-electric-mobility/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=RMI and Uber Team Up to Expand Shared and Electric Mobility |date=19 June 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/rmi-and-uber-team-up-to-expand-shared-and-electric-mobility/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2018rmi, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{RMI and Uber Team Up to Expand Shared and Electric Mobility}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/rmi-and-uber-team-up-to-expand-shared-and-electric-mobility/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }