Uber commits Rs 100 crore towards driver welfare initiatives

Ride hailing major platform Uber, today, said it will spend Rs 100 crore towards supporting drivers and their families, to help meet 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. 

The American ride hailing giant had created the Uber Care Driver Fund last year, with an initial commitment of Rs 25 crore. The company has also spent Rs 6 crore each towards safety kit and safety screen distribution among drivers.

Earlier this year, Uber also announced a covid financial assistance program worth approximately Rs 2 crore for its drivers. An additional Rs 18.5 crore worth of cash incentives were 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.