Community Health and Safety
An Uber spokesperson had the following comments on behalf of the lift sharing company: “In accordance with the updated measures announced by Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula on 1 April 2020, transport services have been granted one additional hour of operation. Uber will now operate daily across South Africa between 5am to 10am (extended) and 4pm to 8pm, during the 21-day National lockdown for permitted travel only. We remain in close contact with local public health authorities and will continue to follow their guidance to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19. The health and safety of our community comes first, and we will do our best to support drivers, our community and essential staff during these unprecedented times.”
Additional Measures
In addition to the above, Uber will be supporting their clients and drivers by:
- Introducing safety recommendations within the Uber app to help raise awareness about travel restrictions and social distancing with “travel only if necessary” in app messaging.
- Riders using the service for non-essential travel are responsible for arranging supporting documentation.
- Providing safety information to drivers and riders in line with public health authorities guidance. This includes messages in-app, email and on social media channels.
- Having a 24/7 team available to support public health authorities in their response to the pandemic. Working with them, Uber will temporarily suspend the accounts of customers and drivers confirmed to have contracted or been exposed to COVID‑19.
- Providing financial assistance for up to 14 days to drivers diagnosed with COVID-19, or who have been placed in individual quarantine by a public health authority.
- Reimbursing drivers who have purchased surface sanitizers to cover the expense.
We are all doing our part to support social distancing and #FlattenTheCurve. Do you routinely make use of lift sharing services such as Uber? Tell us in the comments!
