Celebrating EV rides
Making sustainability feel tangible across the Rider journey.
Product & Design team
Amanda Han (Design)
Liz Hayward (Motion)
Michael Alexander (Product)
Engineering team
Eric Socolofsky (EM)
Sam Ye
Altug Keciciler
Nikhil Yerasi
Megan Leitem
Stephanie Lee
Context
In September 2020, Uber announced its commitment to become a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2040, with 100% of trips occurring via electric vehicles, public transit, or micromobility.
Uber operates at massive scale, facilitating tens of billions of miles traveled annually, meaning even small shifts toward EVs can drive meaningful global emissions impact.
See case study by Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.
Project goal
The goal of this project is to support Uber's sustainability goals by making lower-emission ride choices more meaningful within the Rider experience. Through helping Riders better understand the environmental impact of their choices, we aimed to increase demand for low-emission ride options (Uber Green and Comfort Electric).
Ultimately, the goal was to improve EV utilization on the platform and increase earning opportunities for EV drivers.
Design direction
We want to make sustainability visible and rewarding by celebrating the amount of emissions riders save with Uber Green. We focused on two key moments in the journey:
Moment of match: when a rider is paired with an EV driver
On trip: while riders are in the car, after the rider has found their driver
After booking, a rider’s primary task is to locate their driver and vehicle. Rather than interrupting these high-intent moments, we focused on adjacent moments in the journey, encouraging sustainable behavior without adding friction to core tasks.
Designs
Key animation moments across match confirmation and on-trip experiences (Right animation by motion designer Liz Hayward)
Animation explorations
Experience across on trip states, both in-app and through system surfaces (iOS and Android)
Keep track of emissions savings over time
Go Get Zero
This work was featured at Go Get Zero, Uber’s annual sustainability event, showcasing product initiatives driving progress toward electrification.
It was so rewarding to see everything my team had been working on being showcased and celebrated.
Sleepless nights in London leading up to the event
Rider Emissions Page showcased during Go Get Zero 2023
Impact
On Trip Celebration:
-> Green trips and Green GBs increased (+0.7% and +0.4%)
-> Mobility completed trips and GB increased (+0.3% and +0.3%)
Emissions Savings Tracker:
-> Green trips and Green GBs increased across markets
-> US&C: +0.9% trips, +1.1% GB
-> Rest of World: +1.04% trips, +0.88% GB
-> Platform throughput was flat
Bonus
A highlight of my career - the product got recognition from ELT :)
Feedback from CFO -> CPO -> Design VP