Uber, after receiving an approval from the city authorities, resumes work in Kyiv, the company’s press service said on Thursday.
At the same time, the company notes that it will not charge a commission for the service, so the full cost of trips will go to drivers.
“From today, Uber has resumed operations in Kyiv. To support the city’s immediate recovery, Uber will not charge any ride fees, meaning the full fare paid by passengers will go directly to local drivers. Uber will also donate 10,000 free rides to government employees and other critical infrastructure workers who provide the necessary assistance and services to the people of Kiev,” Anabel Diaz, regional manager of Uber in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was quoted as saying.
Uber also continues to operate in other Ukrainian cities: Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnitsa, Chernivtsi, Khmelnitsky, Lutsk and Rivne.
In addition, the company added that in addition to resuming core operations, Uber continues to initiate social projects in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, volunteer centers and businesses to support Ukrainians.
Uber, in particular, offers promotional codes for free trips to blood donation centers for donors from DonorUA – they are available in all cities where the platform operates (in Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Vinnitsa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnitsky, Rivne and Lutsk). In addition, Uber recently launched the Uber Connect&Van service in Lviv with a special promotional code for donating goods for internally displaced persons. The initiative is implemented in cooperation with the NGO “Volunteer Hundred Lions”.
In Ukraine and Poland, Uber has launched a special Uber Aid service that allows Ukrainians to travel to the borders for free.
The Uber Donate button in the app has already raised $3.5 million worldwide, according to the company.
Taxi calling services Bolt and Uklon continue to work.
The Uber service has stopped working in Ukraine, the company said in its app.
“Uber rides are not available in this region at this time,” a message to passengers in Kyiv reads.
In Lviv, the application shows that there are no trips available.
In Kharkiv and Odesa, a message is also displayed stating that trips in the region are not available.
“Due to the growth of geopolitical tensions and recent events, we have decided to suspend the operation of the application. The safety of all application users is our top priority. We continue to monitor the circumstances and hope that this is a temporary situation,” the company said.
Uber has been operating in Ukraine since 2016 and is present in nine cities.
Uber taxi service has launched Pool Chance in Kyiv, which provides an opportunity to share a ride with another passenger in one car.
“Pool Chance is an option in the Uber app that allows you to share a ride with another passenger in the same direction. Maximum two people can share a ride in one car, and the cost of the ride for each of them will be cheaper than in Uber X,” goes in the service statement.
Kyiv will be one of the first cities in the world to offer this new pilot service.
The company also stressed that all drivers and passengers must wear protective masks when using Pool Chance or other Uber services.
“In case another passenger is not found during the ride, the cost will be as for UberX, which is indicated in the app at the beginning of the ride. The percentage and the exact amount of cashback are dynamic and will be added to passengers’ wallets in the form of UberCash,” goes in the description of the new service.
According to Georgii Sokolianskyi, Uber’s Development Director in Central and Eastern Europe, Kyiv has already been among the first cities where the company launched new services, such as Uber Green or Uber Shuttle.
“Investing in services such as Pool Chance, we want to offer people new options for moving around the city in order to leave private cars at home, reduce the number of cars on the road and relieve traffic on popular routes,” he stressed.
By launching this service, Uber wants to help Kyiv become a greener city and maximize urban mobility, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York and discussed the prospects of increasing capital investment of the company in Ukraine with him.
“During the meeting, the parties discussed a number of issues regarding Uber’s activities in Ukraine, as well as the prospects of increasing the company’s investments in our country,” the press service of the head of state reported.
Zelensky informed Khosrowshahi of the implementation of the reform policy aimed at improving the business climate in Ukraine and creating favorable conditions for attracting foreign investments.
In addition, the use of environment friendly vehicles in Ukraine by Uber was discussed during the meeting.
Uber plans to launch the Uber Shuttle pilot project, a servicing to book a seat in a minibus that will drive from one pre-arranged location along a fixed route to another pre-arranged location within the city, in Kyiv in May 2019, the press service of Uber has told Interfax-Ukraine.
This service is also available in Cairo (Egypt) and Monterrey (Mexico).
Uber said that during the pilot project, customers will be able to book a seat in the minibus via the Uber application.
“Uber strives to become a multimodal platform for personal mobile services, giving users access to various modes of transport with the click of a button, so that they can move around the city without need of having their own car. With the pilot launch of Uber Shuttle in Kyiv, we offer the experience of using this service to users here in Ukraine,” the press service said, citing Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Head at Uber Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty.
The company said that the main goal of the pilot project is the use of Uber technology, to offer Ukrainian users another alternative way to travel around the city.
“This pilot project is part of Uber’s mobility strategy available on the platform,” Uber said.
Gore-Coty also said that Ukraine is very important for Uber, and the company will continue investing in the country, promoting new products on the Ukrainian market.
