Uber can pay $1,000 in credits to certain commuters within the US and Canada who ditch their cars for five weeks in favor of public and other transport services, it said Thursday, in its latest effort to drum up business and help reduce emissions.
The ride-hailing and food delivery platform operator has, for several years, battled for the adoption of environment-friendly electric vehicles and has pledged $800 million to support its driver partners’ shift entirely to EVs by 2040.
It has partnered with rental automotive company Hertz to supply Tesla cars as a rental option for its drivers within the US and Europe, even though it shouldn’t be clear how much of its total fleet currently comprises EVs.
Under the “One Less Automotive” initiative, Uber will select as much as 175 automotive owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver, based on certain eligibility, for the five-week program starting 22 July.
They may get $500 in credit redeemable on the Uber app, a $200 voucher for automotive rental or carshare services and $300 to be used on alternate modes similar to public transport.
An identical initiative by Uber in Australia last yr showed that commuters mainly took to walking, cycling and ride-share after ditching their cars.
The move comes as transport operators, including major US airlines, expect robust tourist activity and travel this summer.
Based on Uber, the US has 233 million private vehicles, about 80 million of that are driven lower than 10 miles a day on average.
