Uber is introducing the One Less Car trial where 175 selected participants across the U.S. and Canada will give up their personal car for 5 weeks and instead use alternate forms of transportation, in exchange for cash and credits toward other travel modes.
The alternative transportation options will include car-free offerings like public transit, Lime e-bikes and e-scooters bookable in the Uber app, plus car rentals, and rideshare.
The aim of the challenge is to highlight the high costs of personal car ownership, as well as all the external effects on our health and the cities where we live. Uber has long advocated for fewer cars on the road and encourages participants to use other transportation means such as walking, public transit, cycling, and rideshare.
Car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver interested in participating can sign up online for the five-week trial, which will take place July 22nd–August 25th. Uber will then select 30 people from each city to give up their cars during those five weeks.
The ride-hailing app has partnered with the Behavioural Insights Team to measure the impacts. Participants will be asked to document their experience throughout the trial, and take note of what transportation alternatives they use.
“With nearly 233 million private vehicles on the road throughout the U.S – 80 million of which are driven less than 10 miles a day on average – they [Uber] want to show that it’s possible to make the switch to a car-light lifestyle, saving both money and emissions,” said Uber in a press release.
