Participants Can Save Money on Gas, Earn Up to $600 When They Complete Five-Week Program
LOS ANGELES (August 4, 2026) – Following a successful Santa Monica pilot in 2023, Metro is rolling out Phase 2 of the One Car Challenge Pilot Program to determine whether incentives can reduce solo car trips and encourage other modes of transportation such as transit, carpooling and walking. Expanding upon 300 households in the Phase 1 Santa Monica pilot, this new phase will include up to 2,000 Los Angeles County households. Participants who keep at least one household car parked at home for five weeks and explore other ways to travel to their destinations can earn up to $600 per household.
Phase 1 Results
Metro partnered with the City of Santa Monica in fall 2023 to launch Phase 1 of the One Car Challenge with a similar timeframe, rules and incentives. The 300 participants tracked their mileage through weekly odometer readings.
The pilot showed a significant behavioral shift away from solo car trips, with the most notable increases seen in walking and micromobility. Data tracked during the initial phase revealed that participants were 2.6 times more likely to avoid driving an extra vehicle, resulting in a documented 16.16% increase in walking, biking, and public transit utilization.
Expansion of the One Car Challenge
The findings from the Phase 2 pilot will be used in several ways. By expanding the program, Metro aims to generate statistically significant vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction data needed to determine whether incentivized projects such as the One Car Challenge could be used as a proven transportation demand management (TDM) tool in the future.
Additionally, Metro will use findings to guide long-term transportation policy, improve regional traffic flow and lower vehicle emissions.
How It Works and Automated Tracking
To participate, individuals will use Metro’s partner GoCarma’s smartphone app, which will request automated or photo reporting of a car’s odometer to measure reduced driving. The app will track travel behavior and handle vehicle odometer readings behind the scenes, making participation easier than ever.
- Who Can Join: LA County residents who are at least 21 years old. The challenge targets households maintaining more than one car, though single-car households are now welcome to apply.
- The Challenge: Keep one household car parked at home for five weeks and get around using transit, bike share, walking, carpooling, or any other alternative mode.
- The Reward: Earn up to $600 (up to $120 a week) for your household, dynamically disbursed upon completion.
- How It’s Tracked: Participants will use the GoCarma app, which automatically logs odometer readings seamlessly while respecting data privacy.
- Sign-ups open immediately. Interested residents can register online directly at metro.net/onecar.
Funding
Metro has secured a $2 million Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grant from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to fund Phase 2 of the One Car Challenge. The initiative is a core component of Metro’s broader Travel Rewards program, aimed at reducing traffic congestion and encouraging sustainable transportation across the region.
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries nearly 1 million boardings daily on a fleet of 2,200 low-emission buses and six rail lines. Metro’s April 2026 Customer Experience Quarterly Pulse survey showed that customer satisfaction has risen to 87 percent.