Free Now to offer EVs as default option in the UK
In the UK, the ride-hailing service Free Now has started to offer electric cars as the default first option for customers ahead of petrol or diesel vehicles.
Free Now is now targeting the goal that 100% of their trips will be zero-emission by 2030 across all key European cities.
In the UK, the German sharing service has pledged that it will ensure that every vehicle on its UK app is “zero-emission capable by 2025,” while taxi services will all be “zero-emission capable” by 2024.
“We are already the largest electric fleet platform in the UK but want to go further faster and make choosing electric vehicles even easier for drivers as well as customers,” said Mariusz Zabrocki, UK general manager at Free Now.
The joint venture between BMW and Daimler claimes that in Europe, Free Now electric car rides have increased by 71 per cent since January 2021. Across Europe, the app allows access to 130,000 new electric scooters, e-bikes and electric shared cars.
Mariusz Zabrocki, UK General Manager at Free Now, revealed that in the UK: “This year alone, we have seen a 135 per cent uplift in passengers opting for EVs, and a 35 per cent increase in EV drivers on the platform.” He says: “These figures reflect the growing demand for sustainable options within the ride-hailing industry, highlighting again that transitioning to zero-carbon/low emission vehicles is not just the right thing to do but also good business sense.”
Free Now undertook a survey of 1,000 adults in the UK this month. The results showed that 60 per cent of those surveyed think that there are too many private cars on the road, while 17 per cent say that private car dependency is one of the main transport issues in their area. Perhaps more interesting for Daimler and BMW is that 28 per cent said that they are willing to pay more to go electric, and 62 per cent now consider the environmental impact of different modes of transport when they get from A to B. Of those people surveyed, 97 per cent said that businesses should make it easier to adopt greener habits through their services even though, oddly, 87 per cent said they are worried about climate change.
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