The One Car Challenge is an 11-week pilot run by LA Metro in partnership with King's College London. The idea is simple: park one of your vehicles and use alternative modes instead — buses, trains, walking, biking, ride-share, whatever works for you.
Participants are split into two cohorts, and each group takes a turn parking a vehicle (the "earning" phase) while the other group is in a research phase. After a shared baseline week, the two cohorts swap roles at the midpoint.
You'll earn $120 per week for keeping your parked vehicle below 3 miles during your cohort's earning phase. Additional incentives are available for completing surveys.
Who can join
To join, you must:
Live in Los Angeles County
Be willing to park one of your vehicles during your cohort's earning phase
You don't need to sell or get rid of the car — just leave it parked for the duration of your earning phase.
How the 11 weeks work
Add all your vehicles to the app. Starting with a shared baseline week, you'll report an odometer reading for every vehicle you've added each week. During your earning phase, if any one of your vehicles stayed under 3 miles for the week, you earn that week's reward.
Week | Dates | Reading due (Sun) | Cohort 1 | Cohort 2 |
0 | Sep 28 → Oct 4 | Oct 4 | Baseline | Baseline |
1 | Oct 5 → Oct 11 | Oct 11 | Earning | Research |
2 | Oct 12 → Oct 18 | Oct 18 | Earning | Research |
3 | Oct 19 → Oct 25 | Oct 25 | Earning | Research |
4 | Oct 26 → Nov 1 | Nov 1 | Earning | Research |
5 | Nov 2 → Nov 8 | Nov 8 | Earning | Research |
6 | Nov 9 → Nov 15 | Nov 15 | Research | Earning |
7 | Nov 16 → Nov 22 | Nov 22 | Research | Earning |
8 | Nov 23 → Nov 29 | Nov 29 | Research | Earning |
9 | Nov 30 → Dec 6 | Dec 6 | Research | Earning |
10 | Dec 7 → Dec 13 | Dec 13 | Research | Earning |
What you'll need
A smartphone (iPhone or Android)
A debit card or email address (so we can pay you)
A few minutes for enrollment
That's it. Head to the next article to walk through how to sign up.