Uber, a ride-hailing service provider in the United States, is resuming its carpooling service, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after more than two years, Bloomberg News reported on the 21st.
Uber announced that it will start the carpooling service ‘Uber X Share’ in nine metropolitan areas, including New York, Los Angeles (LA), Chicago and San Francisco, and will further expand the service area in the future.
Uber has suspended its ride-sharing service in response to quarantine measures such as social distancing since March 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak began in earnest.
According to Bloomberg, Uber has resumed carpooling services as workers who have been working from home during the coronavirus are returning to their offices.
Uber said carpooling would be a cheaper service for customers given the current economic situation, including rising prices, and said that if you choose the prepaid option and share with other passengers going to the same destination, you can get up to 20% discount on fares.
In March this year it was reported that Uber and Lyft drivers were clashing with passengers after the mask requirement lifted.
After the mandatory wearing of masks in the US was lifted, drivers of ride-hailing services, Uber and Lyft, were disagreeing with passengers over the mask issue.
Uber and Lyft are still requiring their passengers to wear a face mask when riding in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Drivers must also wear masks. But drivers say it’s getting harder to enforce as state and local governments repeal mandatory indoor masks.
Occasionally, there are conflicts between the driver and passengers over wearing a mask.
“It’s no longer worth doing,” said Anwar Malik, New York City’s ride-hailing driver.
He took a few months off work due to health concerns, increased crime, and inflation, before starting to pick up passengers again earlier this month. He said he realized he realized that many people were hesitant to wear a mask.
Some drivers have also said that they have been suspended for demanding that passengers continue to wear masks. However, the company did not disclose the reason, so it is difficult to determine the exact reason for the suspension.
South Carolina Uber driver Seolman Brown recently refused to ride a passenger without a mask and reported it to the company. The company told Brown that it would notify passengers of any violations.
But that day, he was informed of the suspension of work. Brown complained, “It looks good as it is written. They say, ‘You can’t board without a mask’. But if you do, you will fire me for my wrong behavior that the passenger falsely claimed.”