Ride-hailing apps help us manage almost every daily task—from commuting and dining to grocery shopping—all from our smartphones. But with millions of ride-hailing drivers taking to the roads every day, this convenience also contributes to air pollution.
To offset this, platforms such as Gojek and Grab have introduced various green initiatives, including promoting electric vehicles, offering carbon-neutral rides, and encouraging users to support carbon-offset programs.
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Yet even when such features are available in the apps for users to choose, users’ willingness to adopt these green options remains stagnant.
Simply offering green features does not guarantee participation. For many users, these options are easy to overlook or ignore.
Others might wonder: Does this contribution actually make a difference? Does the company genuinely care about the environment, or is it just a green image makeover?
Users need evidence
In the ride-hailing business model, users are often passive consumers. They open the app, select a destination, pay, and wait for the ride to arrive.
The platform and driver are responsible for delivering the service, while users simply enjoy the benefits.
Sustainability programs, however, require users to take a more active role. They could choose lower-emission vehicles, support tree-planting initiatives, or participate in challenges that help reduce their carbon footprint.
The question, then, is how platforms can encourage users to voluntarily participate in creating environmental value—a concept known as green customer co-creation behavior.
Green campaigns should go beyond slogans such as “eco-friendly” or “save the Earth.” Users need clear evidence of what their contributions achieve: where their money goes, which programs it supports, and what measurable impact it creates.
Without this information, users may become skeptical and dismiss green initiatives as marketing gimmicks. Concerns about greenwashing are understandable.
Simply adding green features to an app is only a first step. Platforms must also demonstrate meaningful action and be transparent about their environmental efforts.
Read more: Corporate transparency is a step toward a greener economy, but further change is needed
Trust is not enough
In our research, we surveyed 300 ride-hailing users in Indonesia.
We found that users generally trust green features.
But trust alone does not determine whether users will act. They also need to connect sustainability with their personal values, beliefs, and sense of responsibility.
In other words, they need to understand that their daily travel choices have an environmental impact. Because ride-hailing apps are designed for quick, convenient use, users are unlikely to read lengthy explanations about emissions.
Platforms should therefore make environmental information simple and useful. For example, apps could show users their monthly environmental impact or the collective progress made by users in their city.
They could also send post-trip reminders showing how users contributed to lower-emission mobility, combined with gamification or relevant incentives.
Beware of users’ price sensitivity
Price sensitivity is another important consideration.
A company may appear environmentally responsible simply by giving users the option to make an additional environmental contribution. But user participation should complement—not replace—corporate responsibility.
Evidence from Malaysia, Vietnam, and China suggests that consumer acceptance and participation are influenced by how companies approach ethics and sustainability.
Users can be partners in creating environmental value, but their participation should not be used to mask weaknesses in a company’s sustainability strategy.
This is why ethical business practices matter. Users are more likely to participate when companies demonstrate real operational changes, such as reducing empty trips, improving algorithm efficiency, expanding low-emission fleet, providing fair incentives for drivers, and ensuring that carbon-neutral programs are transparent and accountable.
Making green mobility a shared effort
Our research shows that when consumers perceive a company as ethical, they are more likely to develop pro-environmental values and a sense of responsibility to act sustainably.
This link between perceived ethics and green customer co-creation behavior suggests that ethical business practices can encourage users to participate in sustainability initiatives through digital platforms.
These findings have broader implications for urban transportation. Sustainability in ride-hailing is not only a technological challenge. Electric vehicles, efficient algorithms, and emissions-reduction programs are important, but user participation also matters.
Platforms should communicate their sustainability efforts in simple language, backed by verifiable data and easy-to-understand information.
Governments and regulators also have a role to play. They can establish transparency standards for environmental claims in digital applications, including how carbon-neutral claims are calculated, audited, and reported.
Ultimately, users need to see how their choices make a tangible difference. Otherwise, “green” features risk becoming little more than decorative elements in an app.
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