NEW DELHI: Uber on Tuesday announced a brand new service 'Uber Essential' to facilitate essential travel for residents of Bengaluru, Nashik, Gurugram and Hyderabad, amidst the extended national lockdown to help contain the spread of coronavirus.
According to the corporate, this limited mobility solution has been providing efficient and reliable transportation for riders to essential service locations like hospitals and pharmacies, as permitted and approved by local authorities.
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"The service is concentrated upon supporting only essential and important travel with the explicit consent of local authorities. We are in consultation with multiple cities and authorities to know if there's a requirement of a service like this and on the basis of their advice we are going to launch the initiative in additional cities in coming weeks," Prabhjeet Singh, Director-Operations and Head of Cities, Uber India and South Asia told IANS.
All riders on Uber Essential are mandated to hold relevant documentation to validate their purpose of visit authorities.
'Uber Essential' driver-partners are being provided masks, gloves, sanitizers, and safety training. They're also being issued curfew passes by local enforcement authorities to make sure seamless movement to essential service locations.
'Uber Essential' riders will receive reminders through in-app messages and emails about basic steps they must carry out in order to help prevent the spread of the virus.
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Riders in these cities can open the app to see the availability of 'Uber Essential' in their area and accessible locations nearby.