By Bev Fearis, published 11/11/20

Ride-hailing app, FREE NOW for Business, has introduced an electric-only booking option as part of its efforts to help companies reduce their environmental impact.

The change will enable employees to book only EV black cabs or the EV ride private hire option through the app, as accounts will be set up so that employees can only access greener vehicle options.

The move comes after a survey of more than 100 City of London business leaders found 90% will place sustainability as a leading priority in the wake of Covid-19 and more than a quarter have already moved to electric-only vehicles for business travel.

Four out of five of the business leaders, all at director level and above across law, finance and professional services, are planning to invest up to 40% more in sustainable practices over the next year in relation to company revenue.

Over half have sustainability targets in place and just under half are currently developing targets.

Jason Dunderdale, Head of FREE NOW Business UK, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has changed life as we know it and given businesses the chance to step back and think about how they can change things for the better. Our research reveals sustainability is a top priority for City businesses in the aftermath of the pandemic, and travel will be central to this.

“That’s why we’re working to make business travel as green as possible moving forward – becoming the first ride-hailing app to enable employees to book only EV black cabs or EV ride private hire vehicles on our app. Once current restrictions are eased and the City gets moving again, it’s important to ensure businesses have a travel policy that tackles climate change and protects our environment.”

FREE NOW, which recently merged with another ride-hailing firm Kapten, claims to have the largest electric fleet in Europe and the largest green fleet of black cabs in London.

Alongside the booking platform for corporate travel, FREE NOW is also launching an emissions calculator next year which will enable companies to find out how much they can lower their emissions if they switch to EV-only taxis and cars.

The business has also partnered with Amadeus through its travel and expense management software, Cytric, to enable a streamlined, paperless expense claim management experience for ride-hailing.

With the integration, a client’s FREE NOW account can be connected to Cytric and business trip costs are automatically sent for employer reimbursement.

FREE NOW said this means customers no longer need to spend time completing reports and save up to 20 minutes per expense.