Uber Reveals The Greenest City In New Zealand To Mark The Debut Of Its New Rider Emissions Savings Feature

5 June, NZ: We’ve introduced a new feature that will provide Kiwi riders more visibility about their environmental impact and encourage more sustainable choices when using the Uber app. With Rider Emissions Savings, riders will be able to see an estimation of the CO emissions they avoided when riding with Uber Green.

Just like we popularised rider ratings in an effort to promote respectful behaviour on the platform, we’re excited to roll out Rider Emission Savings so riders can better understand their estimated carbon emissions impact.

Your estimated emission savings are calculated based on Uber Green rides, and the amount of tailpipe CO emissions avoided compared to UberX trips of the same distance in your city.

With the ability to compare estimated emissions saved with friends and family, it raises the question: where are Aotearoa’s greenest riders?

So to mark the launch of this feature in New Zealand, Uber has revealed where the greenest city and riders are located. As of April 2024, Christchurch took out the top spot as the city with the highest average emissions savings per rider, followed by Wellington in second place with Auckland rounding out the top three.

“We’re on a mission to make it easier for our riders to live a lower-emissions lifestyle and with the Rider Emissions Savings feature, it means Kiwis can more easily track and understand their carbon emissions impact in real time,” said Anna Brito, Head of Sustainability, Strategy & Planning at Uber Australia and New Zealand. “We also know that the cost of living is at the top of Kiwis’ minds, that’s why we’re proud to offer Uber Green rides at the same price as UberX rides – making Kiwis’ green choices easier without breaking the bank.”

With the Rider Emission Savings feature, you can:

Tap a button, see your impact: In the Account section of the Uber app, tap “Estimated CO saved” to see all of the tailpipe emissions you’ve saved by taking Uber Green. 

Make sense of your savings: Riders tell us it would be helpful to see how their emission savings add up. We’ve included a graphic that compares your estimated CO emissions savings to everyday examples.

See how your emissions are calculated: The emission savings for an Uber Green trip represents the estimated amount of CO emissions avoided, on average, when a rider takes Uber Green instead of an UberX trip of the same distance. You can read more about the methodology here.

See a greener future: In the future, we plan to include even more products in your emission savings calculation including all-electric rides, and rides on e-bikes and e-scooters booked in the Uber app.

We’re committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from the Uber platform by 2040, and today is an important step in our journey to help inform riders about the impact of their choices and encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport.

At Uber, we are working to build a future of transportation that is electric, shared, and at times car-free, because greener choices mean a greener future.

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