WASHINGTON—The push to fuel the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) doesn’t just target commuters. EVs also have uses in fleet applications, commercial transportation, and rideshare services.
Rideshare drivers who work for companies such as Uber are increasingly turning to electric vehicles to reduce fuel costs. That trend is boosting demand for conveniently located, publicly accessible EV chargers.
So says Omar Asensio, a visiting climate fellow at Harvard Business School’s Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society (BiGS) and an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Asensio and his team recently conducted a study of more than 1 million EV driver reviews of charging stations across North America, Europe, and Asia, and discovered that commercial rideshare drivers are among those elevating the need for public charging units.
“They are mostly relying on public chargers for their daily Uber needs, usually every day or every couple of days, which dramatically increases electric vehicle miles traveled,” Asensio told The BiGS Fix, explaining that many drivers live in apartments that lack garages or space for a residential EV charger.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi considers the issue so pressing he urged U.S. policymakers to accelerate plans to improve the nation’s EV charging infrastructure in a Fast Co. op-ed in January—during the World Economic Forum in Davos, when media messaging can influence policymakers.
Independent Uber drivers, Khosrowshahi said, are converting to electric vehicles seven times faster than the general public and they tend to be disproportionately from low- and middle-income households that need access to public charging stations.
“Charging infrastructure must be more equitable,” Khosrowshahi wrote. “Many drivers don’t have driveways or garages, so access to nearby overnight charging is essential. Yet our data shows us that Uber drivers often live in neighborhoods lacking this infrastructure. These ‘charging deserts’ hold countless people back from making the switch.”