Originally Posted by
jamesteroh
If Lyfts will have to be electric they will never find new drivers in NYC. Parking is at a premium as it is and I don't remember seeing any places with charging stations. Not to mention the cruising range on some electric cars isn't that long of a distance.
In the SF Bay Area and other well-developed ride share markets, relatively few Uber and Lyft drivers use their own cars--most rent cars by the hour or week from agencies with fleets dedicated to ride share. It works really well, especially with hourly rentals, because maintenance becomes a predictable cost and the fleet utilization is very high (the same car can be used essentially 24/7). I suspect that the rental vendors will adapt to the electric mandates and, for example, allow drivers to swap a discharged vehicle for a fully charged one so there's less downtime for the driver. DC Fast Charging also allows many vehicles to charge to 80% in about 20 minutes, which really isn't that bad either.