Uber is giving 175 people in the US and Canada the opportunity to turn in their personal vehicles and try a “car-light” lifestyle with the help of $1,000 USD. The One Less Car program, running for five weeks from July 22 to August 25, will give participants $500 USD of Uber credit, $300 USD towards public transportation and $200 USD for car rental/carshare. Uber claims the experiment is to show how costly personal car ownership is in 2024 and the benefits of relying on alternative transportation.
The new modified program will be offered to 30 residents of select US and Canadian cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver. Participants must be 18 have a driver’s license, a vehicle used more than three times per week, a bank card and be willing to document the program.
The experiment will start with a one-week control period where participants' standard transportation habits are observed. Participants will also be required to submit receipts for any non-Uber transportation. To sweeten the deal, Uber is offering extra incentives in addition to the $1,000 USD like a free month of an Uber-One membership which offers 6 percent of every ride given back in Uber credit and free delivery on Uber Eats.
This comes after a similar experiment conducted by Uber in Australia in 2023 where residents were given $1,350 AUD ($870 USD) to complete four weeks without their personal vehicle. The experiment concluded that four alternative types of transportation need to be easily accessible before people are willing to give up their personal vehicles. Uber is most likely hoping that North American residents are more likely to make the switch as only 3 out of 58 participants said they would sell their car in the near future.
If you meet the requirements and want to ditch your car, you can sign up for the One Less Car program here.
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