Uber said on Thursday it will pay $1,000 credits to certain commuters in the United States and Canada who forgo their cars for five weeks and use public transit or other modes, in its latest effort to boost business and help reduce emissions.
The ride-hailing and food-delivery platform has been working on introducing eco-friendly electric vehicles for several years, pledging $800 million to help its partner drivers transition to all-electric vehicles by 2040.
The company has partnered with car rental company Hertz to offer Tesla cars as a rental option to drivers in the US and Europe, though it’s unclear how many of its fleet are currently electric.
under “One Less Car” InitiativeUber will select up to 175 qualified car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver to participate in the five-week program starting July 22.
Participants will receive a $500 credit to spend on the Uber app, a $200 voucher to spend on rental cars or car-sharing services, and a $300 voucher to spend on alternative modes like public transportation.
A similar initiative by Uber in Australia last year found that commuters were ditching their cars and instead primarily walking, cycling and ride-sharing.
The move comes as transportation operators, including major U.S. airlines, expect increased tourism activity and travel this summer.
According to Uber, there are 233 million privately owned vehicles in the United States, of which about 80 million drive an average of less than 10 miles per day.
