Hey LA County — get paid to give your car a rest! 

Can paying people not to drive reduce traffic?  

Research and practice from around the globe* shows that incentives to take transit, carpool, walk, or bike can meaningfully reduce driving trips — and that lower car ownership reduces miles traveled and time spent in traffic for everyone (in cars and buses).  

This summer, LA Metro is putting that idea to the test countywide. 

Introducing the One Car Challenge — Phase 2 

Building on a successful pilot in Santa Monica, Metro is expanding the One Car Challenge to all of LA County in Summer 2026. This time, we’re inviting approximately 2,000 households to participate — and for the first time, one-car households are welcome. 

Here’s the deal: if you agree to keep at least one household car parked at home for five weeks and explore other ways to get around, you can earn up to $600 for your household. 

What We Learned from Phase 1 

In Fall 2023, Metro partnered with the City of Santa Monica to launch the first One Car Challenge, offering around 300 multi-car households up to $599 over five weeks, plus a $50 TAP transit pass and free bike share rides. Participants tracked their mileage through weekly odometer readings. 

The results were encouraging: the pilot showed a significant shift away from solo car trips, with more people walking,  and riding bikes and scooters . We learned a lot — and we’re ready to go bigger. 

Why Phase 2, Why Now 

The Santa Monica pilot was a proof of concept. Phase 2 is about proving it at scale. By expanding to roughly 2,000 households countywide, we aim to generate more robust research findings which will inform ongoing improvements to LA Metro (and potentially state and federal) policies and programs.  

The timing matters, too. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, LA needs real, tested strategies to manage traffic and get people moving sustainably. The One Car Challenge is part of that preparation. 

Phase 2 is funded by a REAP 2.0 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) grant, and Metro has partnered with GoCarma, whose mobile app automatically tracks travel behavior and odometer readings — making participation easier than ever. 

How It Works 

• Who can join: LA County residents who are at least 21 years old, with one or more cars in their household 

• The challenge: Keep one household car parked at home for five weeks and get around using transit, bike share, walking, carpool, or any other mode 

• The reward: Earn up to $600 for your household 

• How we track it:  Participants will use the GoCarma app — it automatically logs your travel and odometer readings, no clipboards required 

Ready to Take the Challenge? 

Sign-ups open HERE and at metro.net/onecar.  

If the idea of getting paid to skip the car — even for a few weeks — sounds good to you, this is your chance. LA’s roads (and your wallet) will thank you. 

The One Car Challenge Phase 2 is part of LA Metro’s broader Travel Rewards initiative and is funded by a REAP 2.0 grant from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). 

* Other paying people not to drive schemes include; One Car Less pilot and subsequent Cash-Out Cars from Seattle that this program was modeled on , San Bernardino VMT Mitigation Bank ,using the same GoCarma platform, and farther afield Bella Mossa in Italy and Soul No Driving Day.