
Climate Impact Goals - myroon5
https://blog.lyft.com/posts/2017/6/14/lyft-climate-impact-goals
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acabal
Lofty goals, and needed. However I can't help but mourn that at least in
Chicago, all of the taxis I've ever taken in the past several years have been
hybrid vehicles. I think I can count on one hand the number of
hybrids/electric Lyfts and Ubers I've taken. So in Chicago (like everywhere
else) ridesharing is decimating the taxi industry, but here when you take a
rideshare instead of a taxi there's a greater chance your ride is not climate-
friendly _today_.

So while it's nice that Lyft is targeting 2025, in this specific case you
could have already been saving carbon by taking regular taxis instead.

I don't know if Lyft/Uber already have a feature like this (someone else
always calls one for us) but it would be nice if they allowed you to only take
rides in hybrid/electric vehicles, or if they would otherwise incentivize
drivers who had such vehicles.

~~~
passivepinetree
AFAIK they don't allow a feature like this. If they implemented one, I would
gladly use it (even if it cost slightly higher or came with worse
availability). That would be an easy way to allow consumers to vote with their
actions and support electric vehicles.

~~~
acchow
I would love an Uber/Lyft Green option. Happily vote with my wallet.

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joshualross
With Peter Thiel and Carl Icahn as both close Trump advisors and Lyft
investors[1], I wonder if the damage done on one side will equal the benefit
of these lofty climate goals on the other? As a concerned citizen, I applaud
their effort, but I think companies like Tesla are doing far more to drive the
conversion to electric cars. That being said, we need every company to do
their part, so kudos Lyft!

[1] [http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/31/technology/tech-travel-
ban-p...](http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/31/technology/tech-travel-ban-peter-
thiel/index.html)

~~~
davedx
> we need every company to do their part

Exactly. These days if I see any company making a significant climate pledge
of some kind, I support them as fully as I can with my business.

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whazor
I would prefer to see a bonus for drivers with less pollutant cars. It is easy
and directly implementable.

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gldalmaso
Is Trump's bail form the Paris Agreement going to be his most positive legacy?

It seems like it has sparked a much bigger interest to double down on its
goals by a lot of actors than it would otherwise have been if Trump just
pretended to be on board.

A Streisand Effect for climate policy of sorts.

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phinnaeus
> By 2025, Lyft’s shared platform will provide at least 1 billion rides per
> year using electric autonomous vehicles.

Wow. That seems lofty.

~~~
exacube
lyft currently does like 200-250 million rides/yr [1] with a crazy trajectory.
if we "conservatively" assume 40-50% average growth YOY in ridership

that's like 6 billion rides/yr by 2025.. which puts this estimate at 15% - 30%
of rides being all-electric + autonomous.

[1] [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-27/lyft-
book...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-27/lyft-bookings-and-
ridership-soar-while-losses-shrink)

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b1gnasty
Hmm, is all you need is a pink-tinged blog post on long term climate goals to
PR your way into convincing the world you aren't harming it?? It's pretty
obvious that the current so-called "ridesharing" product is increasing CO2
emissions. But good on you Lyft for embracing that good-guy-stance. Keep it up

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Ductapemaster
What about ridesharing is "obviously" increasing emissions? I don't dispute
the fact, but what evidence is this based on?

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thesmallestcat
Ridesharing companies compete with mass transit.

~~~
inimino
And with individual car ownership.

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ChemicalWarfare
greenhouse gasses' share in the atmosphere is about 2%. of that 2% CO2's share
is about 4%. of that 4%, total antropogenic CO2 adds up to about 3%.

not sure what percentage of that 3% Lyft is responsible for but I'm guessing
not enough to impact the climate in any meaningful manner :)

~~~
inimino
Now apply the same reasoning to every other company in every other polluting
industry, and you see (or at least show) why we have a problem.

