The Effect of Covid-19 on Ride-hailing and Food Delivery Services

Due to the crisis of the ongoing Corona virus Pandemic, Uber and other major companies announced new welfare policies that stated that any worker infected by the Covid-19 virus or workers in a location are completely quarantined by the government, would get paid leaves or compensation. Inspired by these events, other companies built using the taxi app and operating in other regions of the world discussed similar procedures to benefit those affected by corona virus.

However not every company that uses the taxi app announced their policies to provide their drivers with compensation earlier this February. They sent a brief message to their drivers that requested the drivers who were infected by the Covid-19 virus to isolate themselves. 

Inside the outbreak:

“I thought, she’s pretty, but she doesn’t have any manners,” says Thongsuk Thongrat, the taxi driver who got infected by the Covid-19 virus from a tourist. The 50-year-old taxi driver from Thailand further shared his experience with the NY Times stating that a tourist who was tested positive for Covid-19 leaned forward to show him some photos of tourist spots on her mobile while they were stuck in traffic.

At that moment, she sneezed while talking with the driver spraying the contagion directly on his face. His interview spread like wildfire all over the world and alarmed several cabbies. The ride-hailing companies that were operating based on taxi app were forced to make announcements to provide compensations for drivers who were quarantined by the government.  

How corona virus impacted Uber?

Experts recommend that two weeks will be enough for quarantine or self-isolation for people affected by Covid-19. Uber’s statement further stated that employees who are infected would get 26 weeks of compensation and if a worker cannot report to work during the course of the outbreak will not be penalized even though they are not sick or quarantined. 

Some drivers around the world continued to provide their services in spite of the outbreak. They wore masks and constantly disinfected their cabs to protect themselves. However, a report from Singapore times stated that Cab drivers are refusing to pick up passengers from hospital premises.

The situation worsened for drivers in the Philippines as they were ordered to wear face masks and to provide masks and sanitizes for passenger use at free of cost by The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). When the stocks face masks were brought in huge quantities by the customers, it led to a huge demand in the market and forced the drivers to take a break from their work.

The National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association of Singapore reported that drivers are facing more than 25 per cent decline and private drivers are facing more than 35 per cent decline in the total earnings in the first week of February. Grab is a popular food order app that operates in the Philippines made an announcement in the same week that they will provide free face masks for all its drivers.

The surge in demand for food delivery companies:

The spread of corona virus has cut the earning of several businesses in the world as the infected cases have crossed 142,000 worldwide, forcing the customers to stay indoors. But tables could turn for food delivery companies like UberEats because though everyone stays inside, they still have to eat. The website traffic of grocery delivery companies also increased after the spread of corona virus worldwide. 

Online food delivery companies like UberEats, WMT grocery, and other popular UberEats clone apps have reported an increase in user engagement as people were stranded inside their homes. The NPD Group reported a 20 per cent increase in the growth of food deliveries as China crosses 80,000 infected cases. Food delivery is one of the successful businesses in China due to the high population in the country.

Entrepreneurs saw chances in this high population, and several of them adopted grocery apps for their company and made a huge fortune out of it. 

Such apps were very much welcomed in China, making it one of the most successful businesses there. But no one ever thought of adding a feature in the UberEats clone script that the people started requesting as no one predicted this pandemic and have never experienced one such as this before. The reports that suggested the number of people who demanded for “Non-Contact deliver” was more than 80 per cent. They asked the delivery executives to leave the food package at their door or on a table so that they could maintain a safe distance between them.

More time at home could mean a boost for short term revenues:

People around the world are concerned about the outbreak and choose to stay indoors, which comes as an advantage for food delivery companies. The increase in cases day by day around the world makes the service a matter of necessity rather than making it a convenience. People are taking up the way of “Social distancing” to avoid the spread of the Covid-19. Due to the risk of exposure tactics like closing schools, postponing social and sports events.

We can witness a rise in revenue of three main segments in on-demand apps such as:

• on-demand groceries
• on-demand laundry
• on-demand food delivery apps

Summing up:

In the wake of the corona virus, the rise in demand for services of the food delivery app also forces the companies to maintain a virus-free service. They will need to carefully follow and implement the guidelines issued by the local and international health authorities as the situation intensifies.

We advise you to wash your hands correctly as research suggests that only 5 percent of people in the world properly wash their hands. A three-second rinse won’t be enough to be free from the Covid-19 virus as washing hands is the key action to stay safe and one of the most basic acts of hygiene.