Switching to an EV changes the cost-per-mile math behind rideshare driving more than most drivers expect, in both directions. It's not automatically the cheaper option, and it's not automatically the more expensive one either. It depends on your actual numbers, not general assumptions about electric vehicles.
What changes with an EV
The most obvious shift is fuel cost. Electricity is generally cheaper per mile than gasoline, often meaningfully so, though the exact gap depends heavily on your local electricity rates and how much of your charging happens at home versus at public fast chargers, which cost more. An EV charged almost entirely on cheap home electricity can have a dramatically lower fuel cost per mile than a comparable gas car. An EV that relies heavily on public fast charging can close that gap significantly.
Maintenance tends to run lower too. EVs have fewer moving parts in the drivetrain, no oil changes, and regenerative braking that reduces brake wear. That's a real, ongoing savings that compounds over the kind of high mileage rideshare driving involves.
What doesn't automatically get better
Depreciation and upfront cost are the other side of the ledger. EVs, especially as battery technology keeps improving, have historically depreciated faster than comparable gas vehicles in some cases, and the upfront purchase price is often higher. High-mileage rideshare use also raises real questions about battery degradation over time, which affects long-term value in a way a gas engine's mileage doesn't.
The comparison that actually matters
Rather than "EV vs. gas" as a general question, the useful comparison is your own real numbers: cost per mile based on your actual electricity rate and driving pattern, against a comparable gas vehicle's cost per mile at current fuel prices. DriveLens tracks this directly. Vehicle profiles include fuel type, and for gas vehicles, combined MPG; for EVs, efficiency in miles per kWh and battery capacity, the actual inputs needed to calculate a real per-mile fuel cost rather than a rule of thumb.
Bottom line
There's no universal answer here, and anyone telling you EVs are simply better or simply worse for rideshare driving is skipping the part where it depends on your electricity rates, your charging habits, your market's demand patterns, and how many miles you're actually putting on the vehicle. The honest way to answer it for yourself is running your own numbers, not adopting someone else's conclusion about a different market and a different car.