(Credit: Uber)
Earlier this year, Uber launched the One Less Car Challenge in seven cities across the US and Canada to promote a car-light lifestyle that saves money and emissions—and the results are in. It's entirely feasible to go without a car in North America, but the lack of alternative transportation infrastructure posed a challenge for some.
Uber gave 173 participants a $1,000 stipend each to ditch their cars for five weeks and use alternate modes of transport. During the trial, participants reduced their personal car use by 97%, replacing it with walking for short trips, carpooling for long trips, and public transport or Uber for medium distances. Bikes and scooters emerged as other favorable alternatives.
At first, most participants missed the convenience offered by a personal car. They faced barriers such as long wait times for public transit, reduced route options, inconvenient departure times, increased costs for short trips, and exposure to unfamiliar people, among others.
However, a few weeks into the program, some participants started seeing the brighter side of things. They were happy to avoid driving through traffic or worrying about a parking spot. They also found time to decompress and multitask on the way. Plus, they gained higher energy levels to connect with people, socialize frequently, and shop more from local businesses near their homes or work.
At the end of the program, 76% of participants said they planned to drive less, 43% said they were very unlikely to give up their car, and about 21% said they were likely or very likely to go personal car-free.
"One of the things that surprised me most was how awful traffic is… I didn't really notice that as much until I stopped driving for a month. And I just feel like I have overall less stress," said a participant from Miami.
"What I'm surprised about was actually the efficiency of the public transportation in my city, using the bus, subway system, [the transit system] in general. I think before I would use it in a very spotty manner and have this notion that things were not on time and late and things like that. But just using it... [in a] more regular fashion, I realized it's pretty efficient and gets to me in places on time, and I don't have to really about parking," said a participant from Toronto.
When Uber launched its One Less Car Challenge program, the goal was to show that it was possible to avoid personal cars and opt for more sustainable transport choices. The company hopes the study can show "car-light living can be a reality for more people who want to save money, emissions, and time while helping cities consider how to best tackle the barriers that are slowing us down."