Uber Extends Validity of Ride Pass Due to Coronavirus Lockdown in India

Uber has extended the validity of its loyalty pass Uber Ride Pass for all customers in India due to the coronavirus lockdown. The company has informed its riders about the latest update through a push notification. However, unlike Uber, Ola hasn't yet provided a similar extension to Ola Pass subscribers. Both Ola and Uber suspended their cab services last month in response to the nationwide lockdown that was imposed on March 24 for the initial period of 21 days. Both aggregators are, however, working with the state authorities to provide their cabs for essential medical trips.

For all existing Uber Ride Pass subscribers, Uber has extended its validity by 21 days. The change comes in place due to the coronavirus outbreak that has restricted regular cab services in the country.

“To comply with the government advisory, we have suspended services across all cities during the lockdown. For all our riders who are currently using Uber Ride Pass, we have extended the validity of the Pass by 21 days from the date of expiry,” said Prabhjeet Singh, Director-Operations and Head of Cities, Uber India and South Asia, in a prepared statement to Gadgets 360.

Uber has informed its riders about the latest update through a push notification

The Uber Ride Pass is aimed to offer discounted rides to customers at a certain one-time charge that is valid for a month. It is applicable within a city and on cabs such as the regular UberGo, UberPremier, and UberX.

Similar to Uber, Ola also offers Ola Pass to its riders to provide discounted cab services at a monthly subscription. The Gurugram-based company, however, hasn't yet made any changes for its existing Ola Pass subscribers.

When reached out to get clarity on its take, Ola declined to give a comment.

The new move by Uber is quite obvious since the company isn't able to serve its regular customers due to the lockdown. However, the company last week launched its ‘UberMedic' service exclusively to support healthcare workers with its cab service. Ola also earlier this week announced ‘Ola Emergency' to provide essential medical trips through its platform in Bengaluru.

Alongside offering transportation for medical trips, Uber is currently tying up with online grocery companies and e-commerce platforms to deliver essential household items to Indians across many cities. All this also helps the cab aggregators provide a source of earning to their driver partners, who aren't able to earn their livelihoods through regular cab services due to the lockdown.