The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) this week published an insight brief, in collaboration with General Motors (GM), detailing the hurdles and opportunities of ride-hailing electrification and its urgency amid the current climate crisis.

To evaluate these factors, RMI analyzed data from both electric- and gasoline-powered rental vehicles on the Maven Gig platform, a GM-backed car-sharing service that offered weekly, fixed-rate rentals to gig workers. Maven launched in 2016 and reached nearly 20 North American markets before shutting down amid the pandemic in April 2020.

RMI’s brief listed technological capability, financial competitiveness and charging infrastructure as the three major barriers to electrification across major transportation network companies (TNCs). To overcome these barriers, RMI detailed recommendations that fall into four broad categories: increasing access to L2 charging; lowering the cost of DC fast charging; lowering the initial barrier to electric vehicle (EV) ownership and usage; and reducing the cost of charging for TNC drivers.
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