Uber Rides Are Going To Be Changed Forever In The Foreseeable Future Because Of COVID-19

The world has changed so much in just two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic which spread across the world.  The virus, which is highly infectious, currently has no vaccine and most optimistic estimates peg the chance of a vaccine being discovered,  at one year away.  So governments across the world quarantined entire countries by imposing lockdowns and not letting anyone come out of their homes.  This was done as a measure to break the chain of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  Needless to say, this has disrupted multiple industries with airlines, travel, transportation, hospitality and the event industry bearing the brunt of it.

Swiggy and Zomato, both of which are food delivery applications, have implemented a no-contact delivery where a delivery partner will leave the package at the door and leave.  Swiggy and Zomato went further so as to certify restaurants which sanitize their kitchens regularly and show them on their app for their customers.

Ride hailing companies like Uber and Ola have not seen any business in the last two months in India and have no clarity on when the government would deem it safe for cab services to resume.  However, there can be no denying that your next Uber ride is going to be completely different to how it was before the pandemic affected countries.  Uber in particular is already making changes to how it operates by predicting consumer behaviour in light of the COVID-19 virus.

These are some of the changes Uber is going to make to their operations.

1. Uber is making face masks mandatory for both drivers and passengers during their rides.
2. A driver partner will not be able to log in to their account and accept rides until they upload a selfie of themselves with a face mask.  The app will detect the face mask as an object and gives access to the driver partner to accept rides.
3. Riders must agree to sit in the rear seats and must agree to keep the windows open at all times for ventilation.
4. Only three passengers are allowed in a single cab per ride.  It used to be four passengers before the lockdown.
5. Both riders and drivers can cancel the trip if they do not feel safe without any penalty.  
6. Uber would be spending $ 50 million globally to buy personal protective equipment (PPEs) for drivers including sanitisers, masks and disinfectant wipes.

Uber is just one of the companies that is trying to adapt to the changes in consumer behavior which is bound to change after the lockdowns are lifted and life returns to normalcy.  We will have to wait and watch as to how other industries adapt to these changes in the future.