Coronavirus: Uber Launches Service To Assist Healthcare Providers Through UberMedic, it would make available its wide network of drivers to authorities to facilitate transportation for frontline healthcare providers to and from their homes as well to healthcare and medical facilities.
By Debroop Roy
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Ride-hailing company Uber has launched a new service wherein it would make available its wide network of drivers to authorities to facilitate transportation for frontline healthcare providers to and from their homes as well to healthcare and medical facilities.
The new service - UberMedic - will have top-rated drivers and dedicated cars. To ensure safety of drivers, and in line with government advisory, the company said it will work with partner hospitals to provide drivers with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including hand sanitisers, gloves, disinfectant sprays and face masks.
Uber said the drivers who are part of this service will be trained in coronavirus-related safety protocols, that includes not allowing riders to sit in the front passenger seat. It would also provide dedicated phone support to riders who use the service.
"Working closely with a network of hospitals and leveraging our global experience and technology, UberMedic allows hospitals to easily and reliably arrange transportation for doctors and other health workers...we take this opportunity to thank frontline medical workers, who are helping keep us all safe," said Pradeep Parameswaran, president of Uber India and South Asia, in a statement.
Supporting Drivers and Delivery Partners
The San Francisco, California-based company earlier said it was extending support to drivers and delivery people who have tested positive with the virus or are placed in quarantine by a public health authority.
Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president of rides and platform at Uber, had said, "Drivers and delivery people in these situations will receive compensation for a period of up to 14 days. This has already begun in some markets and we are working to implement mechanisms to do this worldwide."
