Effective 5 June 2026 · One Car Challenge — Powered by GoCarma
This document covers both the terms under which you participate in the One Car Challenge, and the privacy practices that apply to the app and any data we collect from you. It's written in plain English. If you have a question that isn't covered here, message us through the in-app chat and we'll get back to you.
Who we are
The One Car Challenge is a five-week research pilot run by LA Metro (the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) in partnership with King's College London, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
The One Car Challenge app is built and operated by GoCarma, a product of Carma Technology Corporation. When this document says "we" or "us," we mean Carma Technology Corporation as the operator of the app, acting on behalf of LA Metro and its research partners.
What this is (and isn't)
This is a closed research pilot, not a public commercial app. Participation is by invitation only after you complete the pre-registration form at metro.net/onecar and are selected by LA Metro. The pilot runs for five weeks in 2026 and ends when your cohort's pilot week 5 closes. We don't show ads, we don't sell data, and there are no in-app purchases.
Eligibility
To take part in the pilot you must be:
At least 18 years old
A resident of Los Angeles County, California
Living in a household with two or more vehicles
Pre-registered at metro.net/onecar and invited by LA Metro to enrol
Willing to keep one of your household's vehicles parked (under 3 miles per week) for the five-week pilot
We may need to verify these things during onboarding or before issuing a payout.
What data we collect
We only collect what's needed to run the pilot. Each piece of data has a purpose.
Name — Your first and last name as entered during sign-up. Used for account display and payout records.
Email address — The address you sign up with. Used for account login, verification, receipts, and virtual Visa payout delivery.
Phone number — The mobile number you sign up with. Used for SMS verification and account recovery.
Home address — Street, city, ZIP. Used to confirm you live in LA County.
Vehicle details — Make, model, year, license plate, optionally VIN. Used to identify the vehicle you're parking.
Odometer photos — The photos you submit each Sunday. Used to verify weekly mileage.
Auto-Submit odometer readings — Mileage readings retrieved via Smartcar when you opt in. Used to verify weekly mileage automatically.
TAP card number (optional) — The 9-digit number on your LA Metro TAP card. Lets LA Metro retrieve your transit-usage data from the TAP system for the duration of the pilot.
Payment method — Either your bank routing details (for Stripe direct deposit) or your email address (for a Tremendous virtual Visa code). Used to send your end-of-pilot reward.
Crash and performance data — Anonymous diagnostic information about app failures. Used to fix bugs and improve the app.
Survey responses — Answers to any in-app survey you choose to complete. Used to help LA Metro and the research partners learn from the pilot.
What we do NOT collect
For clarity, we do not collect any of the following:
Your contacts list
Your calendar
Your background location (we never read location when the app is closed)
Your browsing history
Health or fitness data
Microphone audio
Files outside the photos you submit yourself
Social-graph data, advertising identifiers, or third-party cookies
Who we share data with
We share data only as described below. We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with advertisers.
LA Metro — Aggregated, anonymous pilot results plus your TAP card transit data, for programme operation and research.
King's College London — Aggregated, anonymous research data for academic research and pilot evaluation.
California Air Resources Board (CARB) — Aggregated, anonymous research data for air-quality and emissions research.
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) — Aggregated, anonymous research data for regional transportation planning research.
Stripe (when you choose debit-card payout) — Your bank routing details and reward amount, for processing the payout.
Tremendous (when you choose virtual-Visa payout) — Your email address and reward amount, for issuing the virtual Visa card.
Smartcar (when you opt into Auto-Submit) — Your vehicle's odometer reading and the OAuth tokens you authorise, for reading the odometer automatically each week.
Intercom (in-app chat) — Your name, email, and the messages you send, for customer support.
Apple / Google (only if a crash occurs) — Anonymous crash diagnostics, for bug fixes.
Aggregated and anonymous data means data that cannot reasonably be used to identify you individually.
We may also disclose data when required by law (for example, a valid court order or subpoena) or to protect against fraud, abuse, or safety risks.
How long we keep your data
Account profile (name, email, phone, address) — until you ask us to delete it, or 12 months after the pilot ends, whichever is sooner.
Vehicle details and odometer readings — 12 months after the pilot ends, then deleted or fully anonymised for research archives.
Odometer photos — 90 days after verification, then deleted.
Payment records — 7 years (US financial-records retention requirement).
Crash and performance logs — 90 days.
Survey responses — kept indefinitely in aggregated, anonymous form for the research record.
In-app chat transcripts — 24 months, then deleted.
Your rights
You can, at any time:
Access the data we hold about you (message us in the app to request a copy).
Correct profile data via the in-app Profile screen.
Delete your account (message us or use the in-app Delete Account flow).
Withdraw from the pilot (in-app Settings → Withdraw from Pilot).
Object to certain uses of your data, including any future research use beyond the four named partners.
Once your account is deleted, we keep only what we're legally required to retain (for example, payment records for 7 years). Everything else is removed within 30 days.
Children
The One Car Challenge is not directed at children under 18. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn we've collected data from a minor, we'll delete it.
Security
We protect your data with industry-standard practices:
In transit — all communication between the app and our servers uses HTTPS / TLS 1.2+.
At rest — data is encrypted in our database and in cloud storage.
Access — only authorised staff can access participant data, and access is logged.
No third-party tracking SDKs are present in the app.
No advertising identifiers are read or shared.
No security system is perfect, and we can't guarantee that data will never be compromised. If we ever experience a breach affecting participants, we'll notify you promptly.
Payments
Rewards in the One Car Challenge are paid out at the end of your cohort, not weekly. The maximum total reward is $599, paid out in either:
A direct deposit to your debit card via Stripe (you provide bank routing details during sign-up), or
A virtual Visa card code sent to your email by Tremendous.
We don't store full debit-card numbers on our own servers. Stripe handles card details on PCI-compliant infrastructure. Tremendous handles virtual-Visa issuance.
You earn up to $120 for each qualifying week (your parked vehicle drives less than 3 miles that week). Weeks where you go over 3 miles, miss the submission window, or have a rejected odometer photo do not qualify.
Third-party services
The One Car Challenge app uses these third-party services:
Smartcar — for the optional Auto-Submit feature, to read your vehicle's odometer.
Stripe — for debit-card payouts.
Tremendous — for virtual-Visa payouts.
Intercom — for in-app chat support.
Apple / Google — for app distribution, push notifications, and crash reporting.
Each of these has its own privacy practices. Links to their privacy policies are available on request through in-app chat.
Cookies and similar technology
The One Car Challenge is a mobile app, not a website. We don't use browser cookies. We do use a few local identifiers on your device:
A device identifier so we can deliver push notifications.
A session token so you stay logged in across app launches.
Cached photos pending upload, while you're offline.
None of these are shared with advertisers.
Acceptable use
By taking part in the One Car Challenge you agree not to:
Submit false or manipulated odometer photos (this voids any rewards for affected weeks and may end your participation).
Misrepresent which vehicle is parked or share your account with other people.
Tamper with the app or its servers.
Attempt to game the reward system (for example, submitting the same photo multiple weeks, or borrowing someone else's odometer).
Use the app to harass, abuse, or threaten the support team or other participants.
We reserve the right to withdraw participants who violate these rules. Earnings forfeited under these rules are not recoverable.
Termination and withdrawal
You can withdraw from the pilot at any time via in-app menu → Contact Us. Any rewards you've already earned for qualifying weeks will still be paid out at your cohort's end-of-pilot payout. Withdrawal is not retroactive — past qualifying weeks remain valid.
We may suspend or terminate your participation if:
You violate the Acceptable Use rules above.
You stop responding to verification requests for more than two consecutive weeks.
You provide false information during enrolment.
If we terminate your participation for cause, earnings up to that point may be reviewed and adjusted.
Limitation of liability
The One Car Challenge app is provided "as is" with no warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Carma Technology Corporation, LA Metro, King's College London, the California Air Resources Board, and the Southern California Association of Governments are not liable for:
Any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your participation in the pilot or your use of the app.
Lost rewards due to causes outside our reasonable control (for example, network outages, third-party service failures, force majeure events).
Decisions you make about your own travel during the pilot.
Nothing in this section limits any liability that cannot be excluded by law (for example, certain consumer-protection rights).
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, where Carma Technology Corporation operates the One Car Challenge pilot. If there's a dispute, you and we agree to attempt good-faith resolution in writing before escalating to a court of competent jurisdiction in California.
Changes to these terms
We may update this document during the pilot — for example to add a new third-party service, update a retention period, or reflect lawyer guidance. If we make material changes, we'll notify you by push notification and / or email at least 7 days before the change takes effect, and we'll update the "Effective" date at the top of this page.
Contact us
The fastest way to reach the support team is the chat icon inside the app. We respond on weekdays during business hours.
You can also email team@gocarma.com for any questions about this policy.
The One Car Challenge app is operated by Carma Technology Corporation (GoCarma) on behalf of LA Metro, in research partnership with King's College London, the California Air Resources Board, and the Southern California Association of Governments.