June 27 (Reuters) - Uber ( UBER ) will pay $1,000 in

credits to certain commuters in the U.S. and Canada who ditch

their cars for five weeks in favor of public and other transport

services, it said on Thursday, in its latest effort to drum up

business and help reduce emissions.

The ride-hailing and food delivery platform operator has,

for several years, batted for the adoption of

environment-friendly electric vehicles and has pledged $800

million to support its driver partners' shift entirely to EVs by

2040.

It has partnered with rental car company Hertz to

offer Tesla cars as a rental option for its drivers in

the U.S. and Europe, although it is not clear how much of its

total fleet currently comprises EVs.

Under the "One Less Car" initiative, Uber ( UBER ) will select up to

175 car owners in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami,

San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver, based on certain

eligibility, for the five-week program beginning 22 July.

They will get $500 in credit redeemable on the Uber ( UBER ) app, a

$200 voucher for car rental or carshare services and $300 for

use on alternate modes such as public transport.

A similar initiative by Uber ( UBER ) in Australia last year showed

that commuters mainly took to walking, cycling and ride-share

after ditching their cars.

The move comes as transport operators, including major U.S.

airlines, expect robust tourist activity and travel this summer.

According to Uber ( UBER ), the U.S. has 233 million private

vehicles, about 80 million of which are driven less than 10

miles a day on average.