An update on COVID-19 financial assistance

As of 30 September 2021, we are no longer taking applications for the COVID financial assistance policy. For additional resources and other safety information, please visit our COVID resources page.

The last few weeks have been hard for everyone. But we know they have been particularly tough for drivers and delivery people like you. With fewer people moving around, many of you are earning less than usual. During this time we  are working hard to understand how we can service the South African communities’ needs.

We are working with preferred vehicle partners to ask that they support drivers in need by reducing the overall cost of their vehicles. Recently, we announced a delivery solution for businesses looking at either introducing or further extending on their logistic efforts. This solution leverages off the driver-partner network to further increase the reach, speed and the amount of deliveries of essential goods that can be done daily. Uber Eats launched the delivery of essentials goods, including that of groceries, toiletries and select medication, that can now be purchased and delivered via the app. We’re also looking at ways to assist you in finding the correct sources of information, which would allow you to request financial assistance from the government.

If you’re still on the road, you are providing critical services during this period—like getting essential workers to their jobs or getting food to people at home. To help keep you safe, we are assisting with sanitiser reimbursement and working on sending details on how to make cloth face masks at home. We also launched COVID-19 Resources, an in-app resource centre dedicated to safety information and updates from us.

Over the last month, we’ve provided financial assistance to drivers and delivery people diagnosed with COVID-19 or ordered to self-quarantine or self-isolate by a doctor or public health authority. We moved quickly to announce this policy, even though acting quickly meant moving forward with limited information, because we believed the most important thing to do was to provide support as soon as possible.

Since then, many of you have told us that the policy we originally launched supported too few drivers and the process to get funds has been complicated and confusing. Today we’re revising our policy in 2 ways:

The new policy is in effect for all active drivers and delivery people in South Africa starting today. If you are a driver or a courier under a fleet partner, the financial assistance will be paid to the fleet partner’s account. You will have to ask your fleet partner to transfer this amount to you.

To be eligible, you must provide written documentation from a licensed doctor or government public health official showing that:

Instructions on how to apply for financial assistance are here. We’ll aim to process your request within 7 business days. Before you apply, please carefully review all the requirements listed in the site linked above. When you apply, your Uber account will be temporarily put on hold as a safety measure to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Even though your account is on hold, we’ll still need to review your application to determine if you qualify for financial assistance. 

We know that establishing a maximum payment per person means some of the most active drivers and couriers will receive less than what they typically earned before COVID-19 was widespread. But by expanding eligibility, we hope this assistance can provide a modest form of relief for more drivers and their families.

Please note, we will also continue our policy of giving you a minimum payment of R350 if you drive or deliver in South Africa even if you have only done one trip in the 30 days prior to your application. 

As our communities face a crisis unlike anything we’ve seen in generations, you are doing essential work, and we are committed to supporting you. We are learning as we go. Because we can’t predict what another month will bring, we will continue to listen and act on feedback, and we’ll return with an updated financial assistance policy on or after May 10, 2020.