Uber launched the One Less Car Challenge to find out what would happen if ordinary people of all ages gave up their personal car for a month. More than 170 volunteers later from 7 cities across North America and the results are in. 

When we launched the One Less Car Challenge, our goal was to show that it was possible to embrace a car-light lifestyle that saves money and emissions, and helps foster more livable cities. We also wanted to dig into the barriers that prevent people from making more sustainable transport choices. 

The findings make it clear that while convenient access to multimodal transportation offerings is the key to unlocking a car-light lifestyle, several barriers remain.

Findings from the One Less Car Challenge include: 

  • It is possible to embrace a car-light lifestyle: During the trial, participants reduced their personal car use by 97% – showing a multimodal transportation ecosystem that includes ride hailing can effectively replace one household car.
  • Changing habits: At the end of the trial, 20% of participants said that they are likely to give up their personal car for good. Meanwhile, 3 out of 4 participants said that they plan to drive less from now on, and 70% said they plan to use other modes more often.
  • Make four the norm: Similar to a 2023 Uber Australia trial, findings from the US & Canada trial also concluded that people need reliable access to 4 other modes of transportation to effectively replace a private car. Public transit, walking, and carpooling were the most popular trip replacements – each accounting for around 1 in 4 trips. Uber was the next most popular substitute, usually meeting specific needs such as late night trips or transporting heavy items. 
  • Going car-light wasn’t always easy, especially at the beginning: While most found it manageable, some participants encountered barriers and frustrations along the way, and overall it took at least two weeks for most participants to adjust to a new travel routine. While some missed the flexibility and control of a personal car, others found poor, nonexistent, or unconnected infrastructure (e.g. bike lanes, bus shelters, sidewalks, etc.) made alternate modes less comfortable, safe, or reliable.
  • Surprising benefits: The overwhelming majority of participants also found unexpected benefits of going car-light. In addition to avoiding traffic and not having to find parking, participants reported improvements to physical and mental well-being, making new discoveries and shopping at more local businesses around their home and work, higher levels of energy, as well as feeling more connected to people and socializing more frequently.  

With nearly 233 million private vehicles on the road throughout the U.S., we all need to rethink the ‘one person – one car’ mentality. We can reach a more sustainable future of transportation and more livable cities together and we hope this study sheds some light that 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.