In an effort to get more of its drivers to embrace electric vehicles, ride share service Lyft has announced a new charging discount program with EVgo. EV drivers on the Lyft platform can now save money when charging on the EVgo network. This new partnership demonstrate's Lyft's commitment to speeding up EV adoption.

"Electrifying our transportation network is a critical component in fighting climate change. We know many drivers on Lyft want to switch to EVs, which is why we're focused on addressing the biggest barriers they face in transitioning: upfront costs and access to affordable charging," said Lyft Director of Sustainability, Paul Augustine. "This expanded partnership with EVgo is an important step in addressing the second barrier and part of a suite of new offerings to support drivers in switching to an EV on Lyft."

Starting as early as this week, drivers using the Lyft Driver app can enroll in the new discount program. Once enrolled, Lyft Gold and Platinum status users can save up to 45% on charging costs based on EVgo's Pay As You Go electricity rates. In addition, these drivers will have their monthly fees waived.

This deal may be less impressive for new 2023 Nissan Ariya customers who get one year of unlimited charging sessions free from Nissan. Toyota bZ4X owners get the same deal, which could make it more appealing for Ride Share drivers. Many other EV owners (including Tesla drivers with a CCS Combo 1 Adapter) can use Autocharge+, which initiates a charging session just by plugging in.

"The number of ride share drivers in the US has climbed above one million, with many millions more Americans taking advantage of ride sharing services every day. Accelerating the transition of ride share vehicles to electric is a critical piece of transportation electrification in this country, said EVgo CEO, Cathy Zoi.

An EVgo study from 2019 showed that ride share drivers cover anywhere from three to seven times more miles than the average EV owner, relying more heavily on public charging infrastructure to charge multiple times per day. By making charging cheaper, Lyft hopes it can make life easier for these users.