Driver partners are providing essential services around the world. Even though they’ve been deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, many drivers are at the frontlines, moving what matters: getting health care professionals to work, giving the elderly essential rides to hospitals and keeping supply chains moving by delivering essential goods to tens of thousands at their doorsteps. 

As more cities gear up to lift the lockdown, we’re stepping up safety standards on our platform for riders and drivers by launching a comprehensive set of measures. We’re ramping up the distribution of millions of PPE kits to drivers and introducing mandatory education video courses for them.

Over the past 2 weeks, we’ve been distributing millions of PPE supplies to our drivers in Green and Orange Zones. We have sourced more than 3 million three-ply face masks, 1.2 million shower caps (for Moto riders), 200,000 bottles of disinfectants and 200,000 bottles of sanitisers for free distribution to all driver partners across India. In case drivers choose to source the required PPE themselves, Uber will reimburse costs.

Our new in-app safety feature will notify drivers to replenish their PPE supplies after they’ve completed a predetermined number of trips. The notification will provide a list of convenient pick up points and generate a QR code once they select a preferred location. An Uber volunteer will scan the QR code at the designated pick up location and hand over PPE supplies to drivers.

To further ramp-up our safety efforts, we’ve made it mandatory for our driver partners to complete ride-sharing specific educational videos, highlighting standard operating procedures for vehicle disinfection and other Covid-19 related safety protocols.  Drivers can only take trips, once they have watched these videos to ensure they’re following the safety protocols. 

We’re also launching an in-app COVID-19 Resources hub for drivers where they can find the latest safety information and other resources for driving during these challenging times. The hub will be available globally andbe the go-to spot in the latest version of the Driver app for safety tips, help with applying for financial relief from local governments (if eligible), and information on additional earning opportunities. As the situation evolves, we will be updating the COVID-19 Resources hub with the latest guidance from health authorities and information from Uber.

For this to be a 360-degree safety approach, and in line with the Government advisories, we urge all our riders to wear face masks when they board an Uber. We remain committed to supporting our communities through this pandemic. Working together, we can help contain  the spread of this virus and put our communities on the path to recovery.