Uber offers $1,000 to ditch your car for five weeks

Uber will pay 175 people in seven U.S. and Canadian cities $1,000 to ditch their cars for five weeks and use alternate transportation in its One Less Car trial, the company announced Thursday.

The One Less Car trial comes at a time when the average monthly cost of vehicle ownership in the U.S. is more than $1,000. This is driven by "record new vehicle prices and a 90% increase in finance rates", according to AAA.

Uber cited these costs — along with traffic and pollution — as the reason for the trial and said it hopes to promote a "car-light lifestyle." If participants only have one car, they will be asked to give up that vehicle. If they own two, they will only have to give up one.

Car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver are eligible to sign up for the trial, which will run from July 22 to August 25. Participants must be 18 or older, have a valid driver's license, have a vehicle they use more than three times per week, a bank card and "be comfortable documenting their experience."

Alternate transportation options include walking, public transit, Lime e-bikes and e-scooters, car rentals and rideshare.

The $1,000 payment will come in the form of $500 in Uber Cash that can be used for Uber Rides and Lime e-bikes and e-scooters, a $200 voucher for car rentals or carshare and $300 for other transportation modes, such as public transit. Participants will also get a free one-month Uber One membership.

The current trial is an expansion of Uber Australia's One Less Car pilot program in 2023, which saw 58 Australians giving up one of their cars for a month.

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Participants reported being able to replace the majority of their car journeys with alternative modes of transportation. Walking increased by 75%, while cycling and rideshare increased by four to five times. However, only three said they planned to sell one of their cars "in the near future."

Ride-hailing competitor Lyft ran a similar Ditch Your Car program in 2018, which offered "transportation credit" that could be used on alternate transportation.