Bhubaneswar: In an effort to meet increasing customer demand during the second wave of the pandemic, Uber today announced that it has doubled the number of two-wheelers deployed for its package delivery service, Uber Connect.
Demand for Uber Connect has tripled in the month of May, with many people using the service to transport essentials like grocery, non-prescription medication, medical devices, and care packages to family and loved ones.
On-demand pickups, digital payment options and contactless doorstep delivery allows residents to send and receive parcels from each other and also order items from nearby shops, without having to step outside the safety of their homes, thereby solving logistical challenges faced by millions.
The service is also being used by good samaritans across the country to deliver essentials and home cooked meals to COVID impacted communities.
Cov-Aid, a Kolkata based citizen support initiative has been using Uber Connect to deliver meals to COVID positive patients in home isolation and till date has successfully delivered 1045 free meal boxes to over 50 families.
Speaking about the initiative, Sneh Yadav, Founder of Cov-Aid, said, “In these unprecedented times, Cov-Aid’s mission is to provide meal services to those affected by COVID and through Uber Connect, we have managed to deliver food swiftly and efficiently to numerous individuals and families in Kolkata. Our objective is to bridge the gap between available resources and the needy in these chaotic times. Uber Connect is connecting those who need help with ones who can provide it like us, truly living up to its name.”
Increased consumer demand for Uber’s package delivery service augurs well for driver partners as Uber can continue to create renewed earning opportunities on its platform during these challenging times.
Pawan Kumar Sharma, Uber Connect Driver Partner based in Delhi NCR, said, “As a result of the lockdown, my daily earnings were next to nothing but Uber Connect offered me an alternate solution and I could continue to earn a living to support my family. The second wave of COVID has been difficult for everyone and I feel very proud that I can be of service to people who have been impacted by COVID, even if it’s just delivering essentials and care packages to them.”
Tarun Gupta, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Uber India and South Asia, said, “Uber Connect has been a vital service for users to send and receive essential supplies, order items from shops and stay connected to their friends and family during this crisis. As demand increased for the service during the second wave of the pandemic, we had to ramp up the numbers of two-wheelers on the platform to better serve the evolving needs of our communities, along with creating new earning opportunities for drivers.”
The two-wheeler delivery service, which was launched in May last year during the nationwide lockdown, is now available across 26 cities including Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh among others. Similar to Uber’s on-demand trips, users can continue to monitor the trip’s progress prior to pickup, en route, and at the dropoff, and can also share the delivery status with the recipient of the package. For more details on the service, you can visit our Newsroom Post.
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