Electroverse and Freenow by Lyft strike EV charging deal aimed at cutting taxi operating costs
- Perry Richardson
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Electroverse, Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging network, has entered a partnership with taxi booking platform Freenow by Lyft, to provide discounted public charging to taxi drivers and fleet operators across multiple European markets.
Under the agreement, Freenow-registered taxi drivers in the UK will be eligible for charging savings of more than 40% a year when using Electroverse’s roaming network. The companies estimate this equates to around £1,100 in annual savings per driver, a material reduction in running costs at a time when energy prices and vehicle financing remain under pressure.
The scheme is being rolled out across 180 cities in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece and Poland, extending access to preferential charging rates to tens of thousands of professional drivers operating on the Freenow platform. Drivers can activate the discounts by linking their Freenow account directly to Electroverse’s charging service.
Fleet operators are also being targeted as part of the deal. Fleets signing up through the partnership will receive the first two months of Electroverse’s charging subscription at no cost, unlocking access to discounted tariffs and commercial offers from charging operators including Ionity, Osprey and Powerdot.
Partnership offers UK taxi drivers savings of more than 40% on public charging as EV adoption accelerates
Electroverse said its platform already provides more than one million drivers with single-tap access to around 80% of public chargers across Europe. The service aggregates multiple charge-point operators into a single app, reducing the need for drivers to manage multiple accounts or payment methods.
Alongside pricing incentives, the service includes route planning tools, a real-time charge-point map and in-vehicle integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, features designed to support high-mileage professional drivers who rely on predictable access to rapid charging during shifts.
The partnership comes amid continued growth in electric vehicle infrastructure in the UK. Public charging capacity has expanded rapidly, with new chargers being installed at a pace of roughly one every 13 minutes, while electric car registrations continue to rise at close to one per minute. For taxi and private hire drivers facing tightening emissions rules in urban centres, access to reliable and competitively priced charging is becoming an increasingly critical operational issue.
Matt Davies, Founder and Director of Octopus Electroverse, said: “Electroverse has already helped drive down charging costs for more than a million drivers and paved the way in making public charging simpler and cheaper.
“Our partnership with Freenow by Lyft is particularly exciting as it brings even more discounts to such an important sector. And with their drivers spending so much of their day on the road, being able to help them find chargers quickly and charge affordably is fantastic – and who doesn’t love snapping up savings of over 40%?”
Felix Brand, Chief Strategy Officer at Freenow by Lyft, said: “We are incredibly happy about our partnership with Octopus Electroverse. This is a significant step in supporting our thousands of EV drivers and fleet operators by directly tackling one of their daily operational costs.
“By making the transition to electric vehicles more financially appealing, we hope to encourage more drivers to make the switch, supporting cities in reducing emissions and accelerating their journey toward climate-neutral, fully electrified transport systems.”
