Uber to provide grants worth Rs 20 cr by end of week to driver-partners

Ride-hailing major Uber on Thursday said it expects to provide grants worth Rs 20 crore by the end of the week to its driver-partners to support them amid the coronavirus lockdown.

It has already reached out to 55,000 driver-partners through its Uber Care Driver Fund.

Earlier this month, Uber had said it will provide grants totalling Rs 25 crore to its driver-partners in India to support them amid the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.

The US-based company is also raising an additional Rs 25 crore through employee and third-party contributions.

"We are continuing to disburse and we will be close to Rs 20 crores by end of this week," Uber India and South Asia Head of Central Operations Pavan Vaish told PTI.

He added that Uber has already disbursed grants to 55,000 drivers from the Uber Care Driver Fund, which it set up with an initial commitment of Rs 25 crore to support drivers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the implementation of the lockdown across the country, the government has allowed only people in essential services like healthcare, banking and media to commute. Restricted mobility has left driver-partners of cab services like Ola and Uber with no source of income.

In response to Uber's appeal to raise an additional Rs 25 crore for the fund, over 23,000 Uber riders and employees have already contributed Rs 2.15 crore, while NGOs and corporations have donated an additional Rs 4.28 crore that has already been deposited into the driver fund.

The fund has been created in partnership with Give India and Samhita to directly transfer grants into the accounts of thousands of driver-partners to enable them to meet immediate and essential family needs.

Uber aims to raise a total of Rs 50 crore for its fund through contributions from its employees, riders, CSR funds and citizens through a partnership with Milaap, a crowdfunding organisation.