Dive Brief:

• Mobility companies Lyft, Via and Gotcha are recognizing Earth Day by encouraging and incentivizing shared bike, scooter and car rides.
• Lyft announced free bike-share rides across the Motivate network, which includes New York's Citi Bike and Chicago's Divvy bike-share. Gotcha also announced it will make all of its e-mobility products free today in an effort to get people out of personal vehicles. Via took a unique approach to Earth Day by turning off its private ride feature to only offer shared rides.
• Though the offers are only valid on April 22, each company acknowledged utilizing carbon-free transportation is a practice that should be recognized every day. 

Dive Insight:

Though Lyft is often primarily considered a ride-share company, it has been working diligently to develop a reputation as a sustainable company through both messaging and various offerings of carbon-free transportation. In the last year, Lyft rolled out its own scooter- and bike-share systems as alternatives to ride-share offerings, and has made significant commitments to renewable energy across its entire platform. 

While Via and Gotcha don't have as large of a network as Lyft, their participation in Earth Day promotions highlight the importance of all shared mobility companies working toward similar climate efforts in order to move the needle on cities' goals to reduce carbon emissions. Via's Earth Day commitment to turn off its private ride feature is arguably the most impactful of the three. By eliminating the option for a private ride, Via exposes its customers to more eco-friendly options and potentially altering behaviors and perceptions of shared rides.