Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. News

Uber and Lyft suspend carpool option to help prevent coronavirus spread

Allison Matyus
By

Uber and Lyft are temporarily suspending their carpool options amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, effective immediately. 

The rideshare companies announced the decision on Tuesday, March 17. In a time of prioritizing social distancing, the carpool option isn’t exactly the most sensible, as it permits up to four separate riders to share the same ride for a lower fare price.

“Our goal is to help flatten the curve of community spread in the cities we serve. With that in mind, we are suspending the Uber Pool service in the United States and Canada,” said Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president of Uber Rides and Platform, in the company’s official statement.

Related
Uber
Mario Tama/Getty Images

A Lyft spokesperson said they are monitoring the situation based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Lyft is pausing Shared rides across all of our markets. The health and safety of the Lyft community is our top priority, and we’re dedicated to doing what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19,” a spokesperson told Digital Trends.

Uber also announced that riders in the U.S. and Canada would start to receive a message when they open the app reminding them to “flatten the curve” when it comes to spreading the coronavirus and to “travel only when necessary.” 

Rideshare companies have taken precautions regarding the coronavirus outbreak in recent weeks. Last week, Uber said it’s working with various public health organizations in deciding whether or not to temporarily suspend the accounts of riders and drivers if they test positive for the coronavirus. 

Uber’s detailed policy on the coronavirus also includes providing drivers with disinfectant supplies (while they last) and giving people the option to have food delivery left at their door to limit person-to-person contact. 

In total, there have been more than 185,060 confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide, and 7,330 confirmed deaths, according to an online dashboard. The World Health Organization officially declared it a pandemic last week. The virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, but there have been confirmed cases in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and more countries around the globe. It has caused massive travel discrepancies, tech company closures, significant event cancellations, and more.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
AiroDoctor claims its four-stage air purifier can eliminate coronavirus
airodcotors four stage filter kills coronavirus airodoctor

As companies seek ways to introduce consumer-grade air purifiers that can kill the coronavirus, the main obstacle that has cropped up is the size of the virus itself. It is too small to be captured by most traditional filters, but AiroDoctor has introduced a commercially focused four-stage air purifier that uses a photocatalytic filter that it claims can destroy or neutralize viruses using UV LEDs.

The AiroDoctor uses a four-stage filter that can capture bacteria and viruses as small as 0.1 microns in size. It is capable of cleaning rooms up to 2,150 square feet with a single unit but runs at only 55 decibels. Because the AiroDoctor does not use UVC light, it doesn't produce ozone and requires no installation or HVAC integration in order to operate. This new technology means there are no dangerous byproducts from operating it, which is something that UVC filters have struggled to address.

Read more
Amazon to hand full-time frontline workers a $300 holiday bonus
amazon employee wearing mask

Amazon will pay its full-time frontline workers a holiday bonus of $300 in recognition of their extra efforts during this challenging year, with part-time workers set to receive $150.

With the pandemic-fighting measures forcing many people to retreat into their homes for much of 2020, online shopping services like Amazon have seen a huge uptick in orders.

Read more
We could soon be coughing into our phones to see if we have COVID-19
google search can now teach you how to pronounce tricky words speaker phone

Imagine if you could open an app on your smartphone and simply cough to discover right there and then if you have COVID-19.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have developed such a method, which could be used as part of broader measures to get the virus under control.

Read more