Uber, Lyft to provide funds for drivers affected by coronavirus

Ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft will compensate drivers affected by coronavirus quarantines, according to multiple news reports.

In a statement to Business Insider on Friday, an Uber spokesperson said that drivers diagnosed with the virus or otherwise affected by coronavirus quarantines would be able to receive compensation for up to 14 days to make up for lost revenue.

A memo sent out by Uber representatives to drivers stated that the system for compensation had been implemented in some markets and was on the road to a worldwide rollout.

memo just sent out at @Uber by @andrewgordonmac includes some important policies in response to coronavirus:

— uber will compensate drivers who are under imposed quarantine by a public health authority in some markets for a period of up to 14 days

—wfh accepted (not mandatory) pic.twitter.com/JxsEHkUAjI

— rat king (@MikeIsaac) March 7, 2020

A spokeswoman for Lyft added to Reuters on Sunday that the company was providing similar compensation, though details on the length of the funds’ availability was not immediately available.

Reuters also reported that delivery companies DoorDash and Instacart are in talks about compensating their drivers. 

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the novel form of coronavirus behind the worldwide outbreak, currently sits at just under 110,000 cases worldwide. Nearly 500 cases have been reported in the U.S., though none are thought to have been transmitted by users of ride-sharing apps.