The worldwide lockdown that has put a pause to the global economic activities has severely jolted the human lives. The roads are vacant due to social distancing, and the absence of traveling, outing, and the further ban on large community events & mass gatherings. This impact of social distancing has clearly reflected on the reduction of ride sharing. People refrain from taking shared rides as this could create a potential risk of viral transmission. An additional factor is the economic slump which was already affecting the vertical. Uber has showed the door to nearly 3,700 employees, which accounted 25% of its employees; the company has also closed in the office San Francisco. Similarly, other companies have fired some of their employees such as Lyft has fired almost 1,000; and Airbnb has fired 1,900 people from its workforce.
Despite the fact that the virus is still around us, the governments are gradually relieving the lockdown protocols as a baby step to resuming their respective economies. This all done with a strict adherence to the safety guidelines and the synchronized practice of social distancing. Working in such scenarios meticulously demand wearing of PPE kits to maintain a safe working environment for the workers. There are currently very selected sub-services of ride hailing which are operational all across the globe as When the school closed, the source of income disappeared. Another money spinning sector for the drivers was tourism, but the coronavirus outbreak has put tourism as well, to a halt.
Some special events and conventions such as Dreamforce, as well as fests including Outside Lands, are being cancelled which have worsened the situations for ride sharing market. Under the influence of COVID-19, DiDi, a ride sharing company in China has adopted a number of preventive measures, including a $ 14 million investment in the safety steps involved in building a disinfection station for on-demand mobility vehicles and installing protective plastic seats. However, as China’s selected territories were shut down and now officials resume their daily lives, the company has had a major impact on the business. Uber has temporarily stopped co-boarding in all affected markets and distributed disinfectants to the drivers so as to keep the cars clean, reduce tolls during pandemics, disinfect all high contact surfaces of bikes and scooters in each warehouse. Further, certain new development methods are also being adopted by the company such as creating an app named ‘Work Hub’ to assist drivers in searching the alternative jobs.
