The Program Will Assist in the New One-Car Lifestyle With Other Benefits
By Zach Armstrong
To incentivize a future with less traffic jams and more sustainable transportation, the City of Santa Monica will pay local residents if they can depend on just one car.
The “One Car Challenge” pilot program, set to start in November, will pay 200 Santa Monicans with weekly stipends totaling $599 each. Participants must own at least two vehicles in their household and be 21 years of age or older. The program will assist in the new one-car lifestyle with benefits such as a $50 TAP card for Big Blue Bus rides and up to ten free rides on the Metro Bike Share program.
Applications must be made by Friday, Oct. 6 and can be made at lametro.trucash.com.
The incentivization is part of the $1.3-million Travel Rewards Research Pilot Project from LA Metro established in 2020. With partners such as the Harvard School of Business and the the Duke Center for Advanced Hindsight, the project aims to test effective ways to convince travelers to substitute driving with transit, ridesharing, walking, bicycling or telecommuting.
Los Angeles County is no stranger to pollution-heavy traffic congestion, and this is just the latest effort from Santa Monica to help change that. As of last month, the City seeked to establish a grant-funded voucher program that would give up to $2,000 to low-income Santa Monica residents for an e-bike.
