Uber journeys with petrol cars will become more expensive than their electric counterparts when traveling from the airport as part of efforts to decarbonise taxi services.
The company said it would start applying a 10% discount to electric journeys from Heathrow and other airports.
As electric and petrol trips booked through Uber currently cost the same, the additional discount means electric trips will become cheaper for the first time.
Uber has said that all of its cars in London will be electric by the end of 2025, up from one in five today, and globally by 2040.
It’s also rerouting trips to be more fuel efficient and will redesign its app for drivers to allow them to fit charging into their shifts.
Uber said it is now at a point where it has enough electric vehicles and chargers around Heathrow, as well as Madrid, Portland and Phoenix airports, to be able to subsidize trips without creating a shortage of demand.
The company subsidizes the rebates, with EV drivers also paying more.
Electric cars picking up passengers from Heathrow and other airports will also have more convenient dedicated pick-up points, while Uber said drivers will also have discounted or free charging.
The changes are part of a wider environmental push by the company, revealed in London by its chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber has said it will aim to eliminate single-use plastics from its takeout services by 2030 and that its food delivery couriers will have zero-emission vehicles by 2040.
The company’s drivers and couriers are not employees and provide their own vehicles, but Uber said it is redesigning its app to make it easier to buy or rent electric cars with the company’s help.
The app will also suggest quieter times of day for drivers to charge their vehicles, and send them on less long journeys if the car is close to needing to be recharged.
Uber said its drivers travel roughly five times as far as the average driver, making it a priority to electrify its fleet.
Mr Khosrowshahi said: “Our Uber drivers are the first people we have to target to go green because of the huge impact when they switch to electric vehicles.”
About 62,000 Uber drivers currently use electric cars, less than 2 percent of the global total, but a threefold increase in the past year.