Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told the Financial Times that the city is considering a regulation that would require rideshare services to use only electric vehicles. “We can mandate, and are looking closely at mandating, that any of those vehicles in the future be electric,” he said in a phone interview.
The concept has not moved past the idea phase, but the mayor has made environmental issues a central focus of his platform. The city published a “Green New Deal” in April which states that it is targeting 80 percent electric vehicles out of all vehicle sales by 2028 and 100 percent by 2050. Mayor Garcetti said that “Local actors, no matter who is in power, are the most critical elements of whether or not we win the fight against climate change.”
This change would significantly impact the economics of ridesharing and could increase rider cost. Long-range EVs are still expensive and recharge time is slower than fueling up. Perhaps one way to reduce emissions and maintain access to low-cost ridesharing would be to require electric vehicles for single-rider, but allow internal combustion for pool vehicles. You know, the rideshares that are actually shared rides.
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