Uber is looking to give 175 Los Angeles drivers $1,000 each to ditch their cars and use alternative transportation methods for five weeks.
The ride-sharing company is expanding its One Less Car trial to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver.
During the trial, 175 selected participants will leave their personal cars at home and use other means of transportation to get around. Participants will be able to walk, use public transportation, use ride-sharing companies or ride a bicycle.
The trial is scheduled to run from July 22 to August 25. Eligible participants in Los Angeles must complete Uber's online survey, be 18 years or older, reside within the city, have a legal driving license, have a personal car that they use more than three times a week, a bank card and a smartphone.
Participants will be required to use their smartphone to download apps for the study and take short videos of themselves documenting the experience.
The goal of One Less Car is to “show that it is possible to shift to a lifestyle with fewer cars, saving money and emissions, and contributing to more livable cities,” Uber said in a press release.
A version of the program was held in Australia last year. Over four weeks, 58 participants gave up their cars.
During that trial, participants received transportation credits, about $870 to ride public transportation, an electric bike subscription, and credits for Uber, Lime, and Uber Carshare. The dollar amount reflects the average annual cost associated with owning a car in Australia.
What Uber found in the program was that the average weekly number of trips among participants decreased slightly from 21 to 19. The average number of modes of transportation used by each participant increased from only using their car to an average of four alternative transportation methods.
