Uber has wanted fewer cars on the road for ages, but is now hanging a very special promotion on it. In the US and Canada, 175 people will receive $1,000 once they leave their car parked for five weeks. How exactly does this work?
One Less Car is a trial by Uber in Canada and the United States. Anyone who leaves their car for five weeks will receive $1,000 in credit from the company for using public transportation or the Uber app.
Uber is pulling off a major PR stunt with the promotion that, incidentally, does an excellent job of marketing the company’s desire. It has long been known that the company actually wants fewer cars on the road. Whether this is the way to achieve that, we don’t know just yet, but it is a perfect way to get a good handle on the cost of a passenger car.
$1,000 from Uber
In the United States and Canada, 175 people are currently accessing One Less Car. They leave their own vehicles aside and use public transportation and sharing services to get from A to B. Something Uber then gives them $1,000 for, which is the average cost of owning a car.
That money is not handed over handily, but comes to the participants in three different ways. For example, they all get $500 in Uber Cash (for rides), $300 for public transportation and a $200 voucher that you can submit to a car rental company or a company that rents shared cars.
Participants from Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver will also receive one month of free access to Uber One. With the app, subscribers can earn up to 6 percent off rides and there are no delivery fees for food, grocery stores and more.
Ingenious the promotion certainly is, but it is not unique. In 2018, Lyft, Uber’s American counterpart, also did something similar. Back then, participants received $550. Later, it was even possible to actually sell your car for x number of rides within the app.
What are the terms and conditions?
Registration for Americans (or Dutch people in America) is of course possible. For example, participants must be 18 years of age or older, have a driver’s license, a vehicle used at least three times a week, a bank card and a good working pen. The first week is meant to be well documented.
Of course, we are incredibly curious to see what such a stunt will make out. For example, will Uber see an increase in its own rides and a decrease in emissions or is this a typical case of good idea, but the effect is a little less.
Listen to Freakin’ Nerds
WANT editor-in-chief Mark Hofman celebrates in Apple Park not only the 4 million followers of Niels van Straaten (AppleDsign), but also the arrival of Apple Intelligence. Is that something to be excited about, how does it work and is it actually safe?