Uber's Latest Campaign Is Pure Irony

Uber is rolling the dice on a new campaign to get commuters in the U.S. and Canada to swap their cars for more sustainable ways of getting around.

Announced on Thursday, the ride-hailing behemoth will shell out $1,000 in credits to a select group of people willing to give up their vehicles for five weeks. This "One Less Car" initiative is Uber’s latest gambit to drum up business while also helping to cut down on emissions. Uber is hoping people will stop using their own cars and instead pay to ride in someone else's– a net nothing in terms of congestion and emissions.

Starting on July 22, up to 175 car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver will be chosen for this five-week program. Participants will get $500 in Uber credits, a $200 voucher for car rentals or car-sharing services, and $300 to use on public transportation or other alternative travel modes.

Last year, a similar effort in Australia showed that people who ditched their cars mainly ended up walking, biking, or using ride-sharing services. This latest push from Uber is part of a larger trend, with transportation companies expecting a surge in travel this summer, including major U.S. airlines.

There are 233 million private vehicles in the U.S., according to Uber, and around 80 million of those are driven less than 10 miles a day. Uber is banking on the idea that these short-distance drivers might be willing to try something new for five weeks. The goal is to show people that they can live without their cars, at least some of the time, and to make a dent in the environmental impact of all those short trips.

Additionally, Uber has been singing the praises of electric vehicles for a while now, the company is putting its money where its mouth is with an $800 million pledge to help its drivers make the switch to EVs by 2040. They’ve teamed up with Hertz to offer Tesla rentals for drivers in the U.S. and Europe, though the exact number of EVs in Uber’s fleet remains a mystery.

This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.

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