Comment Uber is launching a month-long trial dubbed the "One Less Car" challenge to demonstrate people are better off using its app-hailed rides rather than each owning a personal vehicle. Handily, it would also demonstrate how Uber is better off if people use Uber more. What a twist.
The trial will involve just 175 carefully selected people in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington DC, and will run from July 22 to August 25. You can try applying here. Each participant will be given $1,000 in Uber vouchers, told not to use their own vehicles, and instead use the app as well as public transportation, cycling, and even good old-fashioned walking to get around.
Uber tells The Register that $500 of the credits can be used for rides and e-bikes, $200 for car rentals, and $300 for public transportation. Uber expects the trial will prove that using its taxi app will help people save money and cut down on emissions. That said, Uber's claims about the cost of car ownership are questionable at best.
It says it will be giving participants $1,000 because that's the average monthly cost of having a car, based on a 2023 study by AAA. But the study only looked at brand-new cars, and not used cars. People buy used cars way more than new ones in the US, at least, and the costs to upkeep new.
.. Matthew Connatser.
