Uber is changing its app so customers can choose to ride in an electric vehicle — and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wants them to help fight climate change by waiting for one to arrive.
"A couple of minutes isn't going to kill anyone," Dara Khosrowshahi told the BBC on Monday.
In a post on the Uber's website, Khosrowshahi said the company now has enough drivers with electric vehicles to offer an "EV-only option" in more that 40 cities around the world.
The cost per ride will be "about the same price as UberX," he said.
UberX is an option that allows customers a private ride for as much as 20% more than the cost of sharing a car with other customers, according to the Uber website.
Khosrowshahi acknowledged that customers might have "occasionally longer" wait times for an EV and said the company was also offering an "EV preference" option in its app.
Once activated, an EV will be sent if it's "within a few minutes of a standard UberX," he said.
The new features were announced in conjunction with Uber's "Go-Get Zero" event in London to promote its environmental sustainability efforts.
The company has a goal of becoming a "zero-emissions platform" by 2040 and Khosrowshahi said the app's redesign was intended to "accelerate electrification" and enable riders to "make a greener choice."
"We're not saying, hey, wait 15 minutes, but if you have to wait another two, three minutes to help the environment, why not make that investment?" he told the BBC.
Uber stock was trading at $76.3 a share Tuesday afternoon, up about 2.3%
