Uber said Thursday it will pay $1,000 in credits to some travelers in the United States and Canada who give up their cars for five weeks in favor of public transit and other services, in its latest effort to boost business and help reduce emissions.
The ride-hailing and food delivery platform operator has been campaigning for the adoption of green electric vehicles for several years and has pledged $800 million to support the full transition of its driver-partners to electric vehicles by 2040.
It has partnered with car rental company Hertz to offer Tesla cars as a rental option to its drivers in the US and Europe, though it's unclear how much of its total fleet currently consists of electric cars.
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Uber seeks to contribute to electric car fleets
Under the One Less Car initiative, Uber will select up to 175 car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver, based on certain eligibility, for the five-week program that begins July 22.
They will receive a $500 redeemable credit in the Uber app, a $200 voucher for car rentals or ride-sharing services, and $300 for use on alternative modes such as public transportation.
A similar initiative by Uber in Australia last year showed that travelers were mainly choosing walking, cycling and ride-sharing after ditching their cars.
The move comes as transportation operators, including major U.S. airlines, expect strong tourism and travel activity this summer.
According to Uber, the United States has 233 million private vehicles, of which about 80 million drive less than 10 miles per day on average.
With information from Reuters.
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