The COVID-19 pandemic has vastly increased the demand for delivery services, particularly grocery delivery. Uber sees a chance to capitalize on that increased demand, announcing today that it's introducing grocery delivery in certain regions of North America. Uber is doing grocery delivery in a partnership with Cornershop, and at first, it'll only be available in "select cities" in Latin America and Canada.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen a large uptick in demand for home delivery. For weeks, restaurants in many regions of the country were limited to take out and delivery orders, and if coronavirus cases keep increasing in the US, they may be limited to those options once more. Services like Uber Eats, Postmates, and Door Dash have been in high demand in recent weeks, and soon, two of those companies will be joining forces.
Following a successful pilot of the feature, Uber is introducing 'Hourly' in several cities in the United States. The feature, as its name suggests, enables Uber riders to request cars on an hourly basis rather than per-ride. This feature will be easier for riders who need to make multiple stops, go to the grocery store, and other occasions in which multiple rides would otherwise be necessary.
Days after competitor Lyft made a similar announcement, ride-hailing company Uber has detailed the requirements it is about to implement for riders, ones that will remain in effect during the coronavirus pandemic. The rules are designed to help protect both drivers and riders from potentially contracting the virus during a ride, the numbers of which are expected to increase in the coming weeks as more cities start to loosen their lockdown restrictions.
Uber has approved a new policy that will require all of its drivers in certain countries to wear face masks, according to a new leak. The sources claim that Uber is developing a new type of technology that monitors drivers to ensure they're wearing the masks as instructed; Uber confirmed such plans but didn't elaborate on the system. It wouldn't be the first time the company has used tech to monitor its drivers.
Uber has released information on how it is handling the coronavirus outbreak, including how drivers will be supported if they're exposed to the virus. According to the company, it will offer 'financial assistance' for up to 14 days for any driver or delivery person who is directly impacted by the virus. As well, it explains how it is keeping its vehicles clean and more.
Uber has detailed the items its customers accidentally left behind in cars in 2019. The most commonly lost items are the ones you'd expect: riders often lost their keys, forgot their bags, and misplaced their phones. Other commonly lost items included wallets, headphones, glasses, and vapes. What about the less common, but no less interesting, items? Uber has an entire list of them.
Uber has introduced another safety feature, this one designed to let riders betray their drivers by discreetly reporting small disturbances that don't warrant a larger report. If your driver sends a message while driving, doesn't seem like they're paying enough attention to the road, brakes too hard, or other potential safety issues, you can now report them using this tool.
The ride sharing program Lyft is providing free and discounted rides to polls for the primary and general election season for voting in 2020 in the USA. This is an expansion of a program they've had in the past. This system of discounted and free ride sharing action started with the Iowa Caucus and continues through ALL primary votes and ALL caucuses leading up to the general election in November, 2020.
App-based rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft saved us from the nightmare of having to talk to a taxi dispatcher on the phone, so consider it ironic that Uber's big news today is the ability to summon a car through a voice call. The company is testing a new option for booking Uber by voice, with a human operator just like in the good (bad) old days.
Uber has been granted a permit for testing self-driving vehicles in California. The permission comes from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, though Uber won't be utilizing its new permit at any point in the immediate future. The decision comes after one of the company's autonomous vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian in March 2018.
Uber in Mexico has suspended 240 rider accounts after the users took rides with two different drivers who had been in contact with someone who potentially had coronavirus, according to a new report. The decision was made merely out of an abundance of caution, according to the company, which indicates that it'll eventually reinstate these user accounts. The decision appears to have been made so that potential symptoms have time to appear.