LA Metro’s recently announced pilot program to pay Angelenos to keep their cars parked is moving forward with a selected field of program participants.
Last week, chosen participants were given more clarity about the program, its length, its rules and the maximum payout they could receive.
The One Car Challenge is a county-wide initiative that is meant to reward residents for using public transit or other transportation options, while giving LA Metro some useful data.
The information is expected to be particularly useful ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which city and county officials are promoting as a “car-free” event.
Roughly 2,000 households in Los Angeles County will be chosen to participate in the program, and they’ll be tasked with keeping at least one car parked at home throughout the duration. Each week that they are successful, they’ll get paid.
That’s what we knew about the program when it was first announced, but now we have new specifics for those selected.
Here’s how LA Metro’s One Car Challenge works
The One Car Challenge aims to remove hundreds of cars off the road through paid incentives.
Each household will need to cut down to one car (or no car if you’re currently a one-car household) for five pre-selected weeks.
During those weeks, the vehicles will need to log fewer than three miles before reporting. That should allow for people who park on the street to move and relocate their vehicles to avoid potential parking tickets—a major concern aired across social media.
The program itself, however, is 11 weeks long. That means that participants will only have to be without their car for less than half of the program’s duration.
Throughout the duration of the 11-week program, participants will need to submit current odometer readings through the dedicated One Car Challenge app every Sunday.
Pre-selected weeks in which the driver successfully completed the challenge will net you $120; the remaining six weeks will also require a submission but will not receive a reward.
While those off-weeks are unpaid, every completed survey and odometer submission will give you a lottery entry for a chance at one of ten $500 rewards.
In addition to the odometer submissions, each week comes with the opportunity to earn more cash by completing surveys. The first and last surveys are worth $5, while the nine surveys in between are worth $3. An additional follow-up survey the following year will pay $10.
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All told, participants can earn up to $646 in the One Car Challenge (not including a potential $500 reward)
The total balance of a participant’s earning will be paid out at the end of the program, officials said.
There are also three crucial checkpoints throughout the program that all participants must meet of risk losing any accrued rewards.
Those checkpoints are Oct. 4, Nov. 8 and Dec. 13. Odometer readings must be submitted by those checkpoints or you will be removed from the program and will not receive any of the payout.
Who is eligible for the One Car Challenge?
Registration for the One Car Challenge has closed, and selected households have already been contacted about the next steps.
However, not everyone selected to participate will ultimately be enrolled.
Eligible households who have been invited to join will still have to compete with one another.
The number of spots in the One Car Challenge are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, organizers said.
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Email invites are expected to be sent out in late September, and interested households are urged to check regularly and “act quickly” when the invitation arrives.
“Completing your app sign-up promptly will give you the best chance to secure your spot in the program,” officials said. “The deadline to download and register is expected to be the first week of October. If you miss this window, you will NOT be able to participate.”
To register in the app when the time comes, participants will need to add all household vehicles and submit vehicle registration cards.
The One Car Challenge is funded through a grant from the Southern California Association of Governments, and will be tracked through the GoCarma mobile app. Chosen participants will take part in an onboarding session before the program begins.
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