In line with Indian government guidelines of a complete lockdown in 80 districts where coronavirus infections have been found, Uber too has intimated its users that all of its services are being temporarily suspended. The ride hailing giant informed users in this select cities via email about the suspension.
At the time of writing this article, we have confirmed that the services are not available in metropolitans such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Tier II/III cities such as Jaipur. From the looks of it, it appears that all cities that come under the 80 districts under lockdown will see service suspension from Uber. We are still ascertaining the same.
In an email sent to one of the users, and accessed by The Tech Portal, Pradeep Parameswaran, the head of rides in Uber, India SA said, “In compliance with the government guidelines, we are temporarily suspending all Uber services in your city. This means that Uber rides services will not be available until further notice.”
Earlier, the company had announced suspension of its ride-sharing option in India, Uber Pool, in order to encourage social distancing. Ola, Uber’s biggest rival in the region, too announced suspension of its ride-sharing service, Ola Share.
Here’s the full content of the email sent to users:
In compliance with the government guidelines, we are temporarily suspending all Uber services in your city. This means that Uber rides services will not be available until further notice.
We don’t take such measures lightly, and we ask that you please follow the instructions of the public health authorities.
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by COVID-19 in our community. We will keep you informed with the latest information on our Coronavirus response.
We will continue to update this story as and when we receive more information about Uber/Ola service suspensions in India. Meanwhile, for our comprehensive coverage on COVID 19 outbreak globally, and its impact on businesses, please click here.
