The traditional big four petrol stations (Ampol, Shell, BP and Mobil) have offered cents per litre discounts on their fuel cards since they first appear in the late 80s. While the amount and method of discounts may have changed over the years, Fleet Managers still expect to pay better than retail for their fleet.
Some of the questions being asked with the transition to electric vehicles are, will I get a card to use at multiple charging stations? And, will I get a discount on the electricity?
Talking to several providers at recent fleet conferences, they were non-committal on the pricing structures and enthusiastic about their growing network of EV charge stations.
One of the early adopters of electric vehicles have been rideshare drivers with providers like Splend partnering with Polestar to encourage individual operators convert their high mileage petrol vehicles into zero emission electric vehicles.
Rideshare platforms like Uber can have an outsized impact when it comes to emissions reduction targets; a rideshare driver in an EV realises four times the emissions savings than the average car owner.
Last year, Uber Australia announced $26 million in incentives to help encourage more drivers to consider driving an EV. And today, Uber is looking to make the economics of driving an EV even more compelling for Aussie drivers.
So it’s not surprising that they are leading the way with fuel cards and electricity discounts.
Uber and bp pulse have signed a memorandum of understanding to build on their global partnership and introduce exclusive incentives and EV charging discounts to drivers across Australia.
The plan is to offer Uber drivers a discount between 5-8c/kWh on the cost of charging at any bp pulse charging station across the country. The rate of savings will vary based on an individual driver’s Uber Pro tier status.
bp and Uber partnered last year to bring exclusive fuel discounts to drivers in Australia, and to access these new charging benefits, all drivers and delivery people will need to do is register with bp Rewards Unlocked via their Uber Pro account.
“Charging infrastructure and the operational costs of driving an EV is greatly improving in Australia, but we want to do all we can to incentivise our driver and delivery partners to use EV’s when earning on our platform,” said Uber ANZ General Manager Dom Taylor.
“This partnership is a first for rideshare in Australia, and we’re thrilled to build on our partnership with bp that has brought significant savings to drivers over the past year. This is the power of the Uber platform – creating value for our drivers while accelerating our road to zero emissions.”
“We’re bringing the best of our global expertise in EV charging to build Australia’s most convenient EV charging network. Our customers’ mobility and convenience needs are changing, and as we have been over the last 100 years in Australia, we’re on the journey with them,” said Frédéric Baudry, president, bp Australia and SVP fuels & low carbon solutions, Asia Pacific.
“This new deal for Uber drivers builds on our great existing relationship, and we look forward to welcoming Uber EV drivers to take advantage of bp’s great retail offers.”
