Uber Wants to Pay You $1,300 to Stop Using Your Car for a Month
New-vehicle prices, auto insurance premiums, repair costs and registration fees are increasing to all-time highs, making car ownership tougher and tougher. And we’re not even talking about traffic congestion.
With that in mind, Uber is launching a new trial called “One Less Car” to hopefully encourage people across North America to ditch their private vehicle. They’ll even get paid for that.
- Also: Uber, Kia Sign Electric Vehicle Partnership
- Also: Hey, Toronto: 2023 TomTom Traffic Index Has More Bad News for You
The initiative will involve 175 participants in seven major U.S. and Canadian cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. For these last two, up to 40 people can apply.
How Does it Work?
Participants must stop using their car for four weeks from July 22 to August 25. In return, Uber will provide them with $1,300 CAD to use alternative transportation options to get around. These options include walking, cycling, public transit, car rentals, rideshare and car-free offerings like Lime e-bikes and e-scooters, bookable in the Uber app.
By the way, $1,300 is roughly the average monthly cost of vehicle ownership in Canada, according to a recently updated report on Ratehub.ca.
Participants will be asked to document their experience throughout the trial, taking note of what transportation alternatives they use and the impact on their lives. At the end, the results and feedback will be compiled and analyzed by a third-party firm specializing in behavioral insights.
A similar trial was conducted in Australia last year, with walking being the biggest replacement for personal car use, increasing 75 percent, and both cycling and rideshare use increasing 4-5 times. Several of the participants said they intended to continue to rely less on their car.
If you’re a driver in Toronto or Vancouver and are interested in joining the trial, you can apply here by July 7.