Uber today announced that it has enlisted 5000+ vehicles on its platform to provide efficient, convenient and affordable transportation for riders, along with creating livelihood opportunities for its drivers, after a lengthy lockdown.
Uber’s enlistment drive follows a BRTA order which stipulated that ridesharing could only resume with enlisted vehicles. To comply with the directive, Uber has been raising awareness amongst the driver community to apply for enlistment certificates and also facilitating the application process on the BRTA portal.
Uber resumed operations in Dhaka on 22nd June with its affordable UberX service and just this week has restarted services across its Premier and Intercity categories.
Ratul Ghosh, Head of Bangladesh and East India, Uber, said, “As our cities start to open, we want to ensure safe and convenient transport to Move Bangladesh Forward and help our communities on the path to recovery. We remain committed to working with authorities to facilitate the enlistment process for our drivers so that they can start earning a livelihood on our platform as soon as possible and are confident that our ridesharing services are best placed to provide the highest standards of safety and hygiene for riders and drivers in the new normal.”
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Uber has launched multiple new services for supporting the needs of its riders, which have also created earning opportunities for drivers. These include Uber Connect, the package delivery service, which enables customers to transport packages from the safety of their homes and Uber Rentals, which allows riders to book affordable multi-hour, multi-stop options to travel in the ‘new normal.’
Over the past two weeks, Uber has also launched a comprehensive set of safety measures including an interactive Go Online Checklist for both riders and drivers, a mandatory mask policy for riders and drivers, industry first pre-trip mask verification selfies for drivers, an updated post-trip feedback mechanism and a cancellation policy. Aimed at building a new product experience during these challenging times, the new features have been formulated to help protect everyone, every time they use Uber. To ensure social distancing while travelling in an Uber, the company has also instituted new seat limits allowing only two riders in a car other than the driver and advising riders to sit in the rear seat.
Complementing these safety features are Uber’s efforts to ramp up the distribution of safety supplies, such as masks, sanitisers, bar soaps, tissue paper, worth over 50 lakh BDT, free of cost, to drivers. Just last month, Uber spearheaded the formation of a Transport Safety Alliance (TSA) to generate safety awareness amongst consumers, and to equip drivers with health and safety supplies.
As the first ridesharing company to commence operations in Bangladesh in 2016, the safety alliance underscores Uber’s unwavering commitment to serving riders and drivers in Dhaka which remains a key market for Uber.
About Uber
Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 15 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.