Uber trials clean-air fee to pay for switch to electric cars

Uber has announced it will introduce a new clean-air fee on every ride taken in London to help fund its 45,000 drivers to swap their petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles to fully-electric cars.

According to the ride-hailing app, the new 15p (27 cents) charge, which will be introduced in early 2019, will help more than half of its drivers operating in the British capital switch to battery-powered vehicles by 2021.

Uber says that by 2025 its entire London-based fleet will be 100 per cent pure-electric.

The extra clean-air fee, which is likely to be introduced in other counties, will be paid directly to the driver to help them upgrade their vehicle or pay for 'other green initiatives'.

Uber claims that a typical driver working for 40 hours per week would earn around £1500 ($A2700) extra per year from the passenger top-up fee and, in total, raise more than £200 million ($A360 million) over the next 'few years' to help drivers swap to cleaner vehicles.

As well as introducing the new fee, Uber said it will build other partnerships to help improve London's charging infrastructure cope with electric vehicles by installing more charging points.

Uber's new clean-air fee comes after the UK government killed subsidies for low-emission plug-in hybrids and reduced the pure-electric grants from £4500 ($A8200) to £3500 ($A6400).

Following the announcement of the clean-air fee Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive, said that the plan was "a long-term investment in the future of London aimed at going all electric in the capital in 2025".

"Over time, it's our goal to help people replace their car with their phone by offering a range of mobility options -- whether cars, bikes, scooters or public transport -- all in the Uber app."

The new clean-air fee has received a mixed reception.

Some commentators said the new levy would still leave drivers struggling to afford an electric vehicle, while others claimed London's chronic lack of EV chargers would not be able to deal with a sudden surge in the numbers of battery-powered cars.