What’s Green Mode? Green Mode allows riders the choice to pick a hybrid, a plug-in battery electric hybrid (PHEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV) – in other words, a car that guzzles less gasoline, or doesn’t use any at all.

Lyft recently announced its pilot launch of “Green Mode” from the Go Forth Electric Showcase in Portland, Oregon. Portland is the second city (after Seattle) where riders can choose this feature through the app.
Once a rider has scrolled to the feature and hailed a car, chances are, they’ll get picked up by a driver in a Toyota Prius. But you might get a driver like Courtney McRae-Alston, who enthusiastically drives her Chevy Bolt full-time for Lyft. For many passengers, taking Green Mode will be the first time they’ve ridden in an electric car.
This is a simple, impactful step anyone can take to help lower emissions. Almost 40% of emissions in the state of Oregon come from transportation. Some rideshare drivers drive seven times the distance of an average driver in a day. These full-time drivers can go through a tank of gas every day.  

Here are the pro tips on how it works. 

Open the app and plug in your destination. To find Green Mode, scroll all the way to the right (it’s the last option).

A few more friendly tips:

• Green Mode drivers don’t always know that they’re Green Mode. Tell them (and tip them!)
• There are fewer “Green Mode” vehicles on the road, so it may take ~5 minutes longer for the car to arrive than a gas engine car.
• As more electric cars are adopted, the idea is that “Green Mode” will become the default.
• Because the Pacific Northwest has some of the cleanest energy in the country, when you’re powered by electric, there’s a good chance that you’re on completely renewable power.