Coronavirus leads Uber to offer 10 million free rides, deliveries for those in need
Offer is valid for health care workers, seniors and other people in need
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Ride-share giant Uber will offer 10 million free rides and food deliveries to health care workers and other individuals in need during the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced Tuesday.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the offer is valid for health care workers, seniors and other people in need. Officials from embattled cities, hospitals and food banks were encouraged to reach out to Uber for potential assistance.
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“A month ago, Uber was connecting 16 million trips a day. Now, we’re urging our riders to stay home if they can,” Khosrowshahi said in a blog post. “And even as their lives have been upended, too, drivers, couriers and restaurants are moving what matters: getting first responders to work, and food to those who need it. Alongside them, we want to do our small part to help.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 71.62 | +0.06 | +0.08% |
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The initiative marked the latest outreach effort from Uber. The ride-share company has also offered free rides and meals for health care workers in the United Kingdom and waived delivery frees for restaurants active on its Uber Eats platform in the U.S. and Canada.
U.S. authorities have confirmed more than 181,000 individual cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus, as of Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University database. At least 3,606 Americans have died from the virus.
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The crisis has prompted countless U.S. companies to offer aid in the form of free meals, production of badly needed medical equipment and other coronavirus-related efforts.
Uber expanded paid sick leave for its drivers who contract COVID-19 or are forced to self-quarantine. Earlier this month, Khosrowshahi said Uber had enough cash to weather any interruptions to its business because of the pandemic.