Do you like electric cars, but hate driving? If so, then you're in luck.
Less than a decade from now, when you order a ride from Lyft (LYFT 0.75%), you'll almost certainly get picked up in an electric car -- or some similarly zero-emissions vehicle.
As TechCrunch reports today, Lyft has announced a "commitment" to ensuring that its fleet is all-electric, all the time by 2030. And yet, the company believes this switch from gas to electric will be one voluntarily agreed to by its drivers (who outside of California at least, are still considered independent contractors).
Image source: Getty Images.
Lyft says it will not require drivers to drive electric vehicles in order to be able to pick up fares via its app. Neither will the company pay drivers to make the switch to electric cars -- which, as a rule, cost significantly more than their internal combustion engine cousins. Lyft does, however, hope to "help drivers access incentive funds" provided by someone else, although the company is not specific about who it expects to pony up.
Perhaps more importantly (and more incentivizing to drivers), Lyft argues that "the shift to EVs will create opportunities for drivers to lower costs" (because electric vehicles don't need oil changes, for example) and to thereby "keep more of their earnings."
The company says it's also hoping that partners such as the Environmental Defense Fund will help it to lobby "policymakers" to promote the transition to renewable energy-powered vehicles, with the goal of "making electric transport the new normal by 2030."
If that happens, the biggest benefit of Lyft's proposed transition may not be Lyft itself, its drivers, or even its customers, but automakers like Tesla (TSLA 0.48%) that have taken the lead in making and selling electric cars.
