Uber partners with Mastercard, Department of Health to provide free rides and accelerate vaccinations in South Africa

Uber has partnered with Mastercard and the Department of Health to provide one million free trips for all eligible South Africans aged 18 years and above to vaccination sites countrywide.

This initiative will be rolled out nationally from Wednesday, 25 August until 31 October 2021 targeting all people who are eligible for vaccination. People who want to vaccinate will be able to claim two free Uber trips with a value of up to R100 to and from vaccination sites across the country. This initiative also provides families and friends with an opportunity to help their loved ones in need of transport to vaccination sites by assisting them to request a trip.

The Department is calling upon eligible people to support all initiatives established to make life-saving vaccines accessible by going out in numbers to vaccinate to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Frans Hiemstra, Uber General Manager from Sub-Saharan Africa: “We applaud the Department of Health’s efforts to vaccinate the community and we would like to do our part, along with our partners, to support these efforts. Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve been looking at how we can support our communities and prioritise their health and safety. Our recent expansion into an additional 21 smaller cities and towns across South Africa, means we support more people across the country.”

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, impacted economic activity and transformed the way we live. The South African economy’s recovery depends strongly on the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, and with strategic partnerships such as these, recovery is possible.

Last year, Mastercard partnered with Uber in its largest region-wide initiative to provide 120,000 free trips to frontline workers in the Middle East & Africa during the height of the pandemic. Earlier this year, the two companies extended their long-standing partnership with a new strategic initiative that enables Uber to drive digitization across their business operations, leveraging Mastercard’s single infrastructure to meet all types of payments needs across Uber Rides, Uber Eats, Uber Pass, and Uber for Business.

Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President Market Development, Mastercard, MEA explains, “Mastercard continues to partner with digital players across the value chain to build a more connected world by supporting our communities. Uber’s mission to improve lives is matched with Mastercard’s mission of doing well by doing good, and together we can help more people feel confident and safe with access to free transportation.”

Trips must start or end at select vaccination centres, which you can view here. For vaccination, you will need to bring one of the following documents: ID, Passport, Asylum or Refugee number.

How to claim your ride:

If you are new to Uber, create an Uber account. You can download the app, go to the App Store or Google Play.

• Click on the voucher link here and click “Add Voucher” to add it to your account
• The voucher will appear in the ‘Wallet’ section of the app
• The voucher will be applied when requesting a trip to the vaccination centre
• Navigate to the rides home screen and enter the pick-up/drop-off location for yourself or the person you are booking for.
• Confirm your trip.
• Don’t forget – No Mask, no ride. Please also wash or sanitize your hands before entering the vehicle, and jump into the back seat to give yourself and your driver enough space.