# Uber Fails to Pay Some Drivers Electric Car Bonuses



## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

Bloomberg sets out to expose Uber's trivial, performative, GREEN efforts.

Uber Fails to Pay Some Electric Car Bonuses, Citing Glitch

_About half of all ride-hailing trips in the U.S. displace cleaner forms of transport, such as public transit, walking or biking; or are trips that otherwise wouldn't have happened, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Meanwhile, ride-hailing drivers spend about 40% of their time motoring without passengers, further adding to the industry's pollution. All told, each ride-hailing trip causes about 69% more heat-trapping emissions than the trips they displace, according to a report last year from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

To address these growing concerns, both Uber and its main U.S. competitor, Lyft Inc., unveiled major environmental pledges last year. Lyft went first in June, committing to transition all of the drivers on its network to electric vehicles by 2030. But the company provided scant details for how it would accomplish such a dramatic shift. At the moment, EVs comprise about 0.3% of the overall ride-hailing fleet in the U.S., according to BloombergNEF.

Lyft declined to provide financial incentives to encourage drivers to purchase EVs, which cost several thousand dollars more than comparable gas-powered cars even after government subsidies. "All options are on the table," said Sam Arons, Lyft's director of sustainability, when asked if the company would add financial incentives for EV drivers. "What I think we need to see here is lots of experimentation and lots of different ideas being tried out."

When Uber made its own emissions-cutting pledge three months later, it offered two specific financial rewards to drivers. First, it rolled out Uber Green, where riders can request to ride in a hybrid or electric vehicle and pay an additional $1, with 50 cents of that going to the driver. In a second incentive, which is completely separate, Uber said it will pay every driver of an electric vehicle an extra $1 each trip.

Between the two incentives, an EV driver could pocket an extra $1.50 per trip. By Uber's own estimate, that could add up to more than $4,000 per year.

Six months later, Uber drivers report that the rollout has been choppy. For starters, drivers say that passengers rarely click on Uber Green, the function that allows riders to voluntarily pay more for a clean vehicle and adds 50-cents per trip to drivers. The function remains buried on the second screen of the app's offerings and few customers seem to know about the option. "It's like being on the second page of Google search results. Does anyone ever see that?" said Kurt Halfyard, a Chevy Volt driver in Toronto who said he's gotten two Uber Green requests for a combined $1 over the past several months.

Uber and Lyft have been working to address other aspects of this daunting financial equation to get drivers into emission-free cars, including negotiating discounts with automakers. But experts caution that Uber and Lyft have a long way to go before this begins to look attractive to hundreds of thousands of ride-hailing drivers. "Drivers are very work-a-day, practically-minded, bottom-line focused people," said Schaller, the former New York City transportation official. "Ultimately, Uber and Lyft need to have higher fares to pay drivers adequately and to meet these sorts of goals."_


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## dmoney155 (Jun 12, 2017)

LOL not sure if you had any rides yet, but did you got paid?


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

The reporter named Ben on that story was asking about the EV bonus around here.


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## Iduuuuuuuuu (Mar 11, 2021)

tesla cost 10-20 dollars a day to keep charged/plugged in
real efficient
enjoy all your laptops batteries packaged in a proprietary format, they make for nice 30K non redundent paperweights

when i can recharge in 5 minutes
range is 400+ miles
I can swap battery out to any other car, can even pull it out and plug stove, fridge, etc in for emergencies
can plug solar panels in

only then will i consider electric

to each they own


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

Kurt Halfyard said:


> Does anyone ever see that?" said Kurt Halfyard, a Chevy Volt driver in Toronto who said he's gotten two Uber Green requests for a combined $1 over the past several months.


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## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> View attachment 574267


EXACTLY. I said to the reporter, Ben Elgin, that I could stand on any corner in Toronto, and make significantly more an hour begging then driving a Green Vehicle for their incentives.



Iduuuuuuuuu said:


> tesla cost 10-20 dollars a day to keep charged/plugged in
> real efficient
> enjoy all your laptops batteries packaged in a proprietary format, they make for nice 30K non redundent paperweights
> 
> ...


This is all inaccurate, at least up here in Canada.
It cost me $0.90 to fill my EV on Ontario Hydro Electricity, which has almost 0% fossil fuels in the grid. 
The cost of electricity is more expensive and dirtier in some states, and cheaper and cleaner in others. 
But my guess is that there is no state in the USA, even Hawaii and California, where driving on electrons is more expensive than driving on dinosaur juice.


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

My Bolt costs no more than $0.025 (two-and-a-half-cents) per mile to recharge at home. If it was a 30 mpg ICE car, that works out to gas costing $0.75 / gallon. I haven't seen that in awhile.

Oh and no oil changes, no transmission, no brake jobs, no timing belts, no exhaust system. In all, far fewer moving parts.

Finally, with the Uber Zero Emissions Incentive, another thing became very scarce - me giving Lyft rides!

In fairness, the Bolt EV cost a bunch more than the typical U/L car, and if the main battery dies, it's bye-bye Bolt...but they've gotten quite reasonable used, so I'd get another and EV onward. EVs are so much more satisfying to drive that I hate when I have to drive one of our gassers.


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## time4aknewaccount (Mar 11, 2021)

The average supercharger cost of $0.25 per KW also applies for *Model 3*. A full recharge to about 250 miles of range costs approximately $22.00.

40 bucks gets me 400 miles in an old xl so seem like the same cost

According to Solar Reviews, the average cost to fully charge a Tesla Model X is *$15.29*.

Using a Level 1 or Level 2 charger to charge your Tesla at home will cost about $15-$18 based on an average of $0.14 per kWh,

the thousands of laptop batteries that come from those clean green lithium mines lol cost around 13K

trans or engine goes can get both for 5K

i would assume if you drive everyday youd need to charge everday

elon mr green just invested in the most ungreen bitcoin which uses more energy in a year than countries like sweden and columbia, not to mention 1 of his 20 minute private jet commutes to work is more energy than i could use in 40 years, not to mention hes moved on to polutting space so farmers can stream porno faster & of course the stalking bugs i mean features..

dont see many 10 year old teslas driving around either, my vehicles last 15+ years,

over under on how many 2020 teslas will still be road worthy in 2030? lol dont the greenies trade em in every year and still have an ice or few in there 4 car garage with 5 rooms and thousands of square feet to heat and cool the salt water fish when no humans are home?

_Oh and no oil changes, no transmission, no brake jobs, no timing belts, no exhaust system. In all, far fewer moving parts.

oh and no waiting hours to charge, double the range, in 5 years did breaks twice for a total of a few hours at an auto shop, hevent replaced a timing belt since the 90s, same muffler exhaust that came with my car, lots of moving parts i can for the most part source and easily replace myself without taking out a second mortgage since its not high "tech", i own my car so no one can hack or brick it with an over the air update that adds or removes feature, i dont have to subscribe....... i currently dont see the benefits

now if they come up with a hybrid that keeps the stow and go i might be sold but since that free cheese got me a 2020 and not working till least sept, im thinking my next car purchase wont be till 2035 at least, thanks for the letter begging for a bailout dara it was evil with 10 billi in the bank but much appreciated _

again to each they own


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

I have had exactly one Uber Green ping. I did get paid the bonus, but, I forget what it was. It could not have been that much.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Also, Uber Green and EV incentives do not even exist in most places.

My car is going to age off the system at the end of the year, so I will need to replace it. If I could get $0.50 per ride, I might choose an EV. 

Not only does this incentive not exist in my market, but didn't Uber only plan the incentive to last like 9 months? By the time my car is too old for the system, it will have never been introduced in my market and will have expired in other markets.


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

time4aknewaccount said:


> The average supercharger cost of $0.25 per KW also applies for *Model 3*. A full recharge to about 250 miles of range costs approximately $22.00.
> 
> 40 bucks gets me 400 miles in an old xl so seem like the same cost
> 
> ...


One key difference: "charge at home" Home is where the cheap kWh are found...in my case about $0.10. The Teslas listed are larger (X) and / or travel further per charge...or were charged at much more costly superchargers

Costs for a full, 0-100% charge aren't relevant...a typical charge cycle might be from 20 - 90 % . In my case that works out to perhaps 40 - 45 kWh costing less than $5

If a Model 3 went 250 miles on 80-90% of its 75 kWh battery, that works out to $7-8 in my market, maybe $10 at $0.14 / kWh...certainly not "$15-18".

Some of those figures you cite are out of context, from folks poor at math, or those willing to exaggerate / lie to criticize EVs.


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## time4aknewaccount (Mar 11, 2021)

JaxUberLyft said:


> One key difference: "charge at home" Home is where the cheap kWh are found...in my case about $0.10. The Teslas listed are larger (X) and / or travel further per charge...or were charged at much more costly superchargers
> 
> Costs for a full, 0-100% charge aren't relevant...a typical charge cycle might be from 20 - 90 % . In my case that works out to perhaps 40 - 45 kWh costing less than $5
> 
> ...


to each they own
hope you dont forget to plug in your car every night like a cell phone

no ones critizing evs
do you
i like my 400+ mile range and will prob drive ice till i die untill it benefits me


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

My home charger emails me around 9PM if I forget.

EVs may or may not benefit you between now and when you die...I lack extra data needed to evaluate that.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Here's an idea...

get an extension cord and run it from your driveway to your neighbors house?

Free power baby...


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## Cape67 (May 17, 2016)

Superchargers are mainly used for interstate/highway travel. Charging at home at .10 to .15 a KWH, the crossover point for a 30mpg ICE vs EV in terms of equitable costs-to-operate was back when gasoline was hovering around $1.10 a gallon. (Ev average efficiency of 0.3 KWH/mile=0.04 to 0.05/mile cost) vs (ICE average efficiency of 30 mpg * 2.84 national average at time of this posting=.095 cents/mile cost)

Expect gasoline prices to go up. And by up I mean, seriously up. Life changing up. They are already formulating gas tax revisions, which hasn't been raised since 1993, and has not been adjusted for inflation, in the new administration. 

And while there are millions of drivers who believe their 30 mile-per-gallon Honda Accord is "good" on gas, that fantasy quickly breaks when gas goes north of five dollars. At five, 30 mpg translates to a whopping .17/mile. And that's just for fuel. At six, 30mpg translates to .20/mile (which is the same as a 25MPG vehicle at 5/gallon.)


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> Here's an idea...
> 
> get an extension cord and run it from your driveway to your neighbors house?
> 
> Free power baby...


I have seen people who had their electric cut off do just that.


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## 1776abe (Apr 8, 2019)

Electric cars are amazing. best deal out there and a lot of fun. You can buy a used Chevy bolt for about 16 k. Great deal.


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

152k miles and 7k rides on my Chevy Bolt - it is still a hoot to drive and riders love it.


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## 1776abe (Apr 8, 2019)

If u charge at home its .12 a kWh. Cheaper than gas. Less parts to break


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

Yep - I pay $0.10 at home - works out to 2-1/2 cents per mile

There are several 20-25 kW chargers set up for free or cheap use in my area - they recharge at 80-100 miles per hour while I snooze, eat or surf the web.


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## 1776abe (Apr 8, 2019)

The free 25kwh in vegas are no longer. They all charge now


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

As well they should - 25,000 Watts ain't cheap.


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## 1776abe (Apr 8, 2019)

How do they make a profit at .25kwh. Don’t those level 3 machines cost a fortune


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

Yes, level 3 machines do cost a fortune - hundreds of thou to install and subject to peak demand charges.

If we are in fact going to electrify transportation, those problems need to be solved

OTOH, consider the infrastructure needed for a typical modern gas station - huge buried double wall tanks, complex fuel pumping and dispensing systems, liability insurance covering leaks...the list goes on...EV charging stations have none of that.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

JaxUberLyft said:


> Yes, level 3 machines do cost a fortune - hundreds of thou to install and subject to peak demand charges.
> 
> If we are in fact going to electrify transportation, those problems need to be solved
> 
> OTOH, consider the infrastructure needed for a typical modern gas station - huge buried double wall tanks, complex fuel pumping and dispensing systems, liability insurance covering leaks...the list goes on...EV charging stations have none of that.





















Don't see much difference here, not gonna lie.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

The smarter thing would be to keep the charging stations to a minimum. Instead, they make the high voltage batteries easily accessible and have the panels slide-in/slide out. You pull into the station, an attendant comes out, slides out your run down batteries, puts in fully charged batteries, you pay a fee and BUH-bye. The whole process would not take any more than ten minutes, perhaps even only five...................perhaps less than that..............................






.......and you are on your way.


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## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

Another Uber Driver said:


> The smarter thing would be to keep the charging stations to a minimum. Instead, they make the high voltage batteries easily accessible and have the panels slide-in/slide out. You pull into the station, an attendant comes out, slides out your run down batteries, puts in fully charged batteries, you pay a fee and BUH-bye. The whole process would not take any more than ten minutes, perhaps even only five...................perhaps less than that..............................
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When they get the mass of batteries down from 100kg to something a bit more manageable, maybe.
But really most EV drivers do 95%+ of their charging at home, while they are sleeping, so a complex mechanic driven battery swap system is utter overkill.
For the few road trips per year most people take, plugging in to a high-speed charger, grabbing a sit down meal for 45 minutes, and then driving onward is fine.
When the batteries move from Lithium to Sodium or other chemistries, the charge-times will only get faster.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Kurt Halfyard said:


> When they get the mass of batteries down from 100kg to something a bit more manageable, maybe.


As time progresses, electronics do get smaller. You can put a speaker that will blow you out of the room into a 50mm square box to-day. In 1990, that was unthinkable. If you use the present weights, putting the batteries into 25Kg modules is not difficult. When I was a young man, even a middle aged one, lifting 25Kg (about 55 libs) was no big deal. I even can manage that much as an old coot. If an attendant had to take out four modules, the process might require five to ten minutes, but, it could be done.

An alternative, as you suggest, would be that different components would make charging times faster, thus less of a bother.

While your idea of sitting down to a meal for the forty five minutes might work well for a trip from Washington to New York (somewhat over Km350), for a trip from Washington to Boston (a little under Km800), it would require perhaps stopping for two meals, which would not be in the programme for the times and speeds for such a trip, not for me, at least.


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## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

Another Uber Driver said:


> As time progresses, electronics do get smaller. You can put a speaker that will blow you out of the room into a 50mm square box to-day. In 1990, that was unthinkable. If you use the present weights, putting the batteries into 25Kg modules is not difficult. When I was a young man, even a middle aged one, lifting 25Kg (about 55 libs) was no big deal. I even can manage that much as an old coot. If an attendant had to take out four modules, the process might require five to ten minutes, but, it could be done.
> 
> An alternative, as you suggest, would be that different components would make charging times faster, thus less of a bother.
> 
> While your idea of sitting down to a meal for the forty five minutes might work well for a trip from Washington to New York (somewhat over Km350), for a trip from Washington to Boston (a little under Km800), it would require perhaps stopping for two meals, which would not be in the programme for the times and speeds for such a trip, not for me, at least.


Modern Tesla Model 3's have a range of almost 600 kilometers. Batteries will only get bigger. Still one stop, unless you were going from Toronto to Florida.


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