Uber said beginning March 8, it will support the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), State Governments and local NGOs with free rides worth Rs 10 crore for assisting the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive in India.
The free rides can be utilised to travel to and from the nearest authorised vaccination centre by citizens above 60 and over 45 age group with co-morbidities, the target group identified for the second phase of India’s vaccination drive.
Beginning March 8, Uber will roll out these free rides in a staggered manner across 35 Indian cities including Jaipur, Delhi, NCR, Lucknow, Kanpur, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Mohali, amritsar, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Thirvananthapuram, Guwahati, Agartala and so on.
Given that drivers on the ride hailing platform meet the two main criteria of essentiality and vulnerability, Uber has requested the Central Government to make them eligible for early access to vaccination.
Uber will not use the government Co-WIN portal or the Aarogya Setu app to identify riders, but only provide a discount to people wanting to travel to and from vaccination centres.
"We don't capture demographic information about our riders and have no intention to do that, but the entire process has to be very frictionless and simple. We have used technology, and mapped every single vaccination centre which has been earmarked by the government, whether it is a private facility or a government facility, and geofenced them using technology," said Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia.
Uber will enable a code to be used by anybody who opens the app, either booking a ride for themselves or for somebody in their family who needs to go to the vaccination centre. "The moment you enter a destination or pickup location which is either of these vaccination centres, and you apply the code, the ride discount will get applied which will allow you to avail the offer. We are very cognizant that we want to keep it reasonably simple and streamlined," he added.
Uber’s initiative will facilitate free rides to vulnerable individuals through easily redeemable promo codes that will make travel to vaccination hubs easier and safer. The company will also leverage its NGO partners such as the Robin Hood Army and others for transporting the vulnerable and underprivileged elderly to vaccination centres.
“Uber’s commitment to offer free rides worth Rs 10 crores to help citizens travel to and from the vaccine hubs is praiseworthy as it will facilitate safe mobility options for vulnerable citizens. In India’s fight against COVID-19, public-private partnerships will play a critical role in removing barriers to vaccine access and helping people stay safe.
From the start of the pandemic, Uber has acted as a responsible corporate citizen by helping transport frontline healthcare workers and in delivering essential supplies to citizen’s homes. We look forward to working with Uber in helping our cities move again,’ said Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road, Transport and Highways.
The discounted ride, up to a maximum value of Rs 150, has to be booked within a 24-hour window after the first ride to the centre.
As a part of its support to the MoHFW for addressing vaccine hesitancy, Uber will spread awareness through its app and social media channels. Additionally, Uber will run a Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign stressing upon the importance of masking, social distancing and other Covid safe behavior even after vaccination
“We feel privileged to support the government’s tireless efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. Our efforts in this partnership will be focused on providing safe and timely transport options for the most vulnerable sections of our population. As a part of our commitment to #MoveWhatMatters globally, we will continue to support vaccination drives so that affected communities can quickly recover from the pandemic and rebuild their lives,” said Singh.
He added that Uber is seeing a large number of riders use Uber Auto and Uber Moto. Encouraged by Uber's digital payments and safety and health initiatives, the Auto business has recovered more than 100 per cent from the pre Covid levels, Singh said.
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