Ride hailing major Uber has committed Rs 100 crore towards helping driver partners and their families weather the impact of Covid-19.
Driver partners across Uber’s different verticals including moto, auto and car have benefited from initiatives like the Uber Care Driver fund, Covid financial assistance, vaccination compensation for drivers, safety kit distribution, free online doctor consultation, and microloans, the company said in a statement on Monday.
To help driver partners during the early days of the pandemic, Uber created the Uber Care Driver Fund, with an initial commitment of Rs 25 crore from Uber, benefitting approximately 100,000 driver partners.
The company has also spent Rs 6 crore each towards safety kit and safety screen distribution among driver partners.
Earlier this year, Uber also announced approximately Rs 2 crore worth of Covid financial assistance programme for driver partners. An additional Rs 18.5 crore worth of cash incentives was pledged by the company to encourage driver partners to get vaccinated by compensating them for the time spent in getting the shots. More than 250,000 driver partners on the platform have already received at least one vaccine shot, Uber India said.
The company has provided microloans worth Rs 18 crore were facilitated for driver partners in the last two years including years 2020 and 2021.
“At Uber, we believe our role doesn’t end at creating opportunities by providing a platform to drivers. This is reflected in our extensive work in the last 18 months to help driver partners recover from the pandemic and rebuild their lives. By investing upwards of Rs 100 crore in these initiatives, we have been successful in supporting and empowering driver partners with improved access to health insurance, financial support, vaccination, and medical consultations,” said Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia.
According to Uber, Over 75,000 drivers and their families were facilitated free online doctor consultations in the last 2 years (2020 and 2021), and another Rs 22.6 crore went into various other driver benefits, and forging meaningful partnerships.
