Controversial taxi service Uber launched its first fleet of electric cars in Madrid on Thursday, in an attempt to improve its image in the environmentally-conscious city.
Uber has had a difficult time making its mark in Madrid, with the service being stopped in 2014 after protests and tightened regulation from the city’s local taxi firms. Uber began operating again in the Spanish capital in April, with under a ‘restrictive’ licensing agreement.
Carles Lloret, managing director of Uber for southern Europe, says it hopes the electric car initiative will get left-wing, environmentally mayor Manuela Carmena on board.
“We want to do things that are in line with what the town hall wants,” Lloret added.
The city’s administration launched new measures to decrease pollution and traffic flow in the city centre last month, with Uber hoping that an environmentally-friendly car-sharing service will fit in with the new plans.
“We would love to see more licenses awarded in the future, perhaps for greener cars so there could be more in circulation,” said Lloret.
Uber’s self-driving cars removed in San Francisco
The Madrid launch comes just as Uber suffered a set-back in the US, with its revolutionary self-driving cars removed from the roads in San Francisco.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said on Wednesday it revoked the registration of 16 Uber self-driving cars because they had not been properly permitted.
California defines autonomous vehicles – which need a permit – as having the capability to drive “without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person”.
However Uber argues that because the vehicles require continuous monitoring by a person in the car, a permit is not necessary under state regulation.
“We’re now looking at where we can redeploy these cars but remain 100 percent committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules,” an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement.