President Biden Wants Federal Employees To Drive Or Support Electric Vehicles: How Uber, Lyft, Hertz Could Benefit

Zinger Key Points
  • The Biden-Harris administration is working to increase access to electric vehicles for federal employees.
  • A look at companies that could benefit from the new initiative.

Since running for president in the 2020 election, Joe Biden has been known for being a major supporter of electric vehicles and pushing for changes in the automotive sector.

A new statement from the White House shows Biden's continued support for clean energy with a push for federal employees to support his plans.

What Happened: Recently, the Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris administration announced new public and private commitments to help boost the electric vehicle sector.

The move is being made to help increase access to electric vehicles, save taxpayer money, help tackle the climate crisis and increase American manufacturing.

"This includes leading by example on climate with the release of new Federal employee travel guidelines that direct the use of sustainable transportation for official and local travel, both domestically and internationally," the statement from the White House reads.

Biden's Federal Sustainability Plan aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 from Federal operations. Federal employees will now be asked to prioritize electric vehicles while traveling on business. Employees will also take railway trips instead of airplanes or vehicles when possible. Public transit and ride-share vehicles will also be used when possible.

The new initiative continues President Biden’s Investing in America plan, which is a key part of Bidenomics.

Electric vehicle sales have tripled during Biden's leadership, according to the statement, alongside a 70% increase in the number of electric vehicle public charging ports since Biden took office.

The news also comes as the U.S. set a record with the sale of over one million electric vehicles in 2023.

Related Link: Uber, Lyft, Other Rideshare Vehicles In NYC Must Electrify Or Get Wheelchair-Friendly By 2030

Companies That Could Benefit: The White House statement included the naming of several companies working to help on the federal government initiative.

There are numerous electric vehicle, transportation and logistics companies that could benefit from the new initiative from the Biden administration.

Here's a look at some of the companies specifically named by the White House that are helping with the initiative.

Car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ is named in the report with the company working to increase its electric vehicles to corporate travelers in 2024. The company forecasts an "eightfold increase" in electric vehicle rentals in 2024 compared to 2022.

Ride-share company Lyft Inc LYFT is named in the report thanks to its "Green Mode," which allows riders to specifically request a green vehicle through the Lyft app. The mode will cover 20 of the largest airports in the U.S. by January 2024 according to the report.

Uber Technologies UBER is expanding its "Green Curb at Airports," which similarly allows riders access to electric vehicles at airports. The program also passes discounts to drivers and riders for using electric vehicles. Drives will get discounted or free EV charging in some cases. Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric cover over 70 U.S. airports currently.


Additionally, leading electric vehicle company Tesla Inc TSLA could continue to benefit from Biden's push for electric vehicles. The goal from Biden is to have electric vehicles represent at least 50% of all new vehicle sales by 2030. Tesla is also working to help boost charging infrastructure in America through new partnerships with other automotive companies.

Read Next: Tom Brady Doesn’t Just Endorse Hertz Car Rentals, Turns Out He’s Really A Customer: ‘Tried To Tell You Guys…’

Photo: Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: GovernmentNewsTop StoriesTrading IdeasElectric Vehicle Stockselectric vehiclesEVsJoe BidenKamala Harrismobilityride share companiesStoriest that matterTravel StocksWhite House
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!