Uber will give out $1,000 credits to certain commuters in the U.S. and Canada who forgo their cars for five weeks and use public transit or other transportation services instead, the company said Thursday, in its latest attempt to boost business and help reduce emissions.
The operator of a ride-sharing and food delivery platform has been committed to the adoption of environmentally friendly electric vehicles for several years and has pledged to provide $800 million to help its driver partners switch entirely to electric vehicles by 2040.
The company has partnered with car rental company Hertz to offer Tesla cars as a rental option to its drivers in the U.S. and Europe, although it is not clear what proportion of the total fleet is currently made up of electric vehicles.
As part of the “One Less Car” initiative, Uber will select up to 175 car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver for the five-week program beginning on July 22.
You will receive $500 in credit redeemable in the Uber app, a $200 voucher for car rental or car sharing services, and $300 toward using alternative modes of transportation such as public transit.
A similar initiative by Uber in Australia last year showed that after giving up their cars, commuters mainly walked, cycled and carpooled.
The move comes as transportation companies, including major U.S. airlines, anticipate strong tourist and travel activity this summer.
According to Uber, there are 233 million private vehicles in the U.S., of which about 80 million drive an average of less than 10 miles per day.
