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We are now living in a world where autonomous cars are an actual reality. The even crazier news is that these self-driving cars are leapfrogging oil dependency and head straight to electric.

One of Lyft’s founders just recently announced that the majority of cars will be self-driving by 2021. To make it even better, these self-driving cars will be powered by 100% renewable energy. This makes Lyft the first of the ride-hail companies to pledge to be 100% renewable.

The transition to autonomy

Lyft is partnering with a self-driving startup called NuTonomy to start the transition to autonomous, electric vehicles. They are deploying a group of cars in Boston to test the idea on the road. They can launch the project in all states in much less time than expected if this trial works out.

The importance of autonomy

Realizing that rely too much on personal vehicles is the first step into the future of sustainability. This is what Lyft is trying to fix. They want people to be able to continue to use personal vehicles but 1. Not need to own them to use them and 2. Not pay as much for them. This way, people feel like they have the freedom of a personal car without all of the maintenance or costs.

The future of autonomous cars

By 2025, Lyft will have 1 billion electric-powered rides per year. Their climate goals were a reaction to Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. There is a coalition of businesses and local governments who pledged very similar sustainability goals to contribute in their own way to the climate accord.

Right now only about 0.22% of cars on the road are electric. They believe that the majority of vehicles on the road will be electric in the next 20 years. They are hoping that their endeavors are a major contribution to this goal.