Uber to provide free rides to medics of 11 West Bengal hospitals

App-based cab aggregator Uber on Wednesday said it will provide free rides to healthcare workers of 11 hospitals in Kolkata and Howrah to help fight the Covid-19 outbreak.

The company said it has partnered with the West Bengal government to offer the service, coined UberMedic, and it will deploy 70 cars for the purpose.

The hospitals will get dedicated support by UberMedic, which will be launched in a day or two.

Besides healthcare workers, the cars will also transport non-covid patients, the cab aggregator said in a statement.

All UberMedic cars are being fitted with roof-to-floor plastic wall to enclose the driver, thereby limiting contact with riders.

All drivers are also being trained in safety protocols and being provided with masks, gloves, sanitizers and disinfectants to sanitize cars between rides.

The ID&BG Hospital, Medical College & Hospital, Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College & Hospital, R G KAR Medical College & Hospital are among the facilities to be covered by the service, the statement said.

Uber said it will provide free service worth ₹75 lakh but did not explain how it will compute the fare in terms of the value of the rides. It is expected that the company will calculate fares without any surge for the purpose.

UberMedic is already transporting frontline medical workers in over 35 hospitals across 23 cities of the country.

The offer is part of Uber's global commitment by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, to offer 10 million free rides during the trying time across the world.