LA Metro To Give $600 To 2,000 LA County Residents Who Don't Drive Their Car For Five Weeks

The Los Angeles area is not known for having an especially comprehensive public transportation system, despite being the most populous county in the United States with about 9.6 million residents. Los Angeles is, however, known for being one of the most car dependent areas in the country, and for having some of the worst traffic in the country, too. Despite this, LA has been (very) slowly expanding its rail lines and bike infrastructure to try and turn that tide, and LA Metro's latest plan just might make the biggest impact.

LA Metro will give 2,000 LA County households up to $600 to leave at least one of their cars parked for five weeks, and instead try out public transit, carpooling, biking, or this thing called walking as part of its One Car Challenge. That's right, LA Metro will pay people not to drive in an attempt to break the region's addiction to cars and driving.

The 2,000 households that are selected to participate in the One Car Challenge will have to use the GoCarma smartphone app to track odometer readings and travel behavior during the program. Participants who keep at least one household vehicle parked at home for five weeks while using alternate forms of transportation can earn up to $600, which equates to about $120 per week.

This is actually an expansion of a 2023 pilot program that ran in the LA County city of Santa Monica that included 300 households that resulted in a 16.16% increase in walking, biking, and public transportation according to LA Metro. Funding for the expansion comes from a $2 million Regional Early Action Planning grant from the Southern California Association of Governments.

According to NBC Los Angeles, "Officials said data from the expanded pilot will be used to evaluate whether incentive-based programs can reduce vehicle miles traveled and serve as a long-term transportation demand management tool. The agency also plans to use the findings to help guide future transportation policy, improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle emissions."

LA County residents must apply online and must be at least 21 years of age. The program is aimed at households with more than one vehicle, but single-car households are also eligible to apply. Program partners listed on the website include LA Metro, LA Department of Transportation, CARB, and Carma, an organization with a mission "to fund tomorrow's transportation network by applying fair and transparent pricing seamlessly on any road."