LAnow vs One Car Challenge
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LAnow
This app provides on-demand shared rides within West Los Angeles. Book a shuttle via the app or phone, and it will pick you up and drop you off within a quarter mile of your requested locations. It offers flexible transportation where traditional bus services may not reach.
- On-demand shared rides
- Book via app or phone
- Real-time vehicle tracking
- Pick-up/drop-off within 1/4 mile
- Flexible transportation options
Read full descriptionHide full description
LAnow is a new on demand shared-ride service. Book a ride through the LAnow smartphone app or by phone, meet your shuttle at your scheduled LAnow pick-up/drop-off point, and ride to your destination. Get out of your car and relax or go where existing bus service can’t take you. Pick-up/drop-off points are never more than a few blocks (1/4 mile) away. You can also meet us at the LAnow Rideshare Hub at the Palms Expo Station. How does LAnow work? LAnow is an on-demand travel concept that takes multiple passengers heading in the same direction and books them into a shared vehicle. Using the LAnow app, input your address and we’ll match you with a vehicle going your way. We’ll pick you up and drop you off within a quarter mile of your requested origin and destination, never more than a few blocks away. Get out of your car and relax or go where existing bus service can’t take you. How long will I wait? - You'll always get an accurate estimate of your pick-up ETA before booking. You can also track your vehicle in real time in the app. Try this new on-demand transport app that is guaranteed to change the way that you think about traveling. We look forward to seeing you on your next journey. Just click, pay, go! Love our app? Please rate us! Questions? Email us at lanow@ladottransit.com
One Car Challenge
Participate in an 11-week pilot program to earn rewards by limiting your vehicle's mileage. Submit odometer readings weekly and complete surveys to track your progress and contribute to research.
- Earn rewards for low mileage
- Weekly odometer submissions
- In-app surveys for extra rewards
- Invitation-only pilot program
- Virtual Visa or debit card payouts
- LA County resident requirement
Read full descriptionHide full description
The One Car Challenge is an 11-week pilot from LA Metro. If your household leaves one enrolled vehicle parked for the week — under 3 miles driven — you earn $120 for that week. EVERY PARTICIPANT COMPLETES THREE STAGES · Baseline (1 week) — no earnings. A starting-point reading so LA Metro can measure your normal driving. · Earning (5 weeks) — keeping one enrolled vehicle under 3 miles for the week earns you $120 for that week. · Research (5 weeks) — no earnings, drive as usual. Your weekly readings help LA Metro measure the pilot. Households enter the earning and research stages in a set order — some earn first and help with research in the second half; others do the reverse. Your order is set at enrolment. HOW THE APP WORKS · Each Sunday during the pilot, you submit an odometer reading for every enrolled vehicle. If your car supports it, One Car Challenge reads the odometer automatically through a supported connection. Otherwise, snap a weekly photo. · Weekly surveys are part of the pilot and carry small extra rewards. THREE REQUIRED READINGS The pilot needs an odometer reading from you in three specific weeks: · Baseline week: odometer due on 4 Oct 2026 · Crossover week: odometer due on 8 Nov 2026 · Final week: odometer due on 13 Dec 2026 Miss any one and you're removed from the pilot — this is a core part of how LA Metro measures the results. HOW YOU GET PAID Choose between a one-time virtual Visa card delivered by email, or a payout to your existing debit card. All earnings are paid together after the pilot ends in December, once LA Metro reviews the final results. ENROLMENT The One Car Challenge is invitation-only. If you were invited by LA Metro, your email address will match the invitation list at sign-up. Participants must live in LA County. Enrolment closes at 3,000 households. SUPPORT Tap Contact Us in the app any weekday during business hours. Our team responds through the in-app chat. Powered by GoCarma. The One Car Challenge is a research pilot sponsored by LA Metro, in partnership with King's College London, the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke, the Southern California Association of Governments, and the California Air Resources Board.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: LAnow at 4.7 against One Car Challenge's 3.5. LAnow also leads on ratings volume (243 vs 14) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). One Car Challenge's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
LAnow holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LAnow has 243 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of LAnow's written reviews are positive against 50% of One Car Challenge's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
LAnow ships an update monthly, One Car Challenge every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | LAnow | One Car Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (243 ratings) — better | 3.5 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 243 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 148 MB | 114 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Via Transportation, Inc. | Carma |
Customer experience
LAnow
One Car Challenge
In-app purchases
LAnow
No in-app purchases
One Car Challenge
No in-app purchases







