Uber Is Donating Free Rides & Food To Victims Of Domestic Abuse

Uber, the popular ride-share service, will donate 50,000 free rides and food to domestic abuse victims across the globe. According to USA Today, the company plans to assist women who are experiencing domestic violence while mandatory stay-at-home orders are in place.

“The ride-hailing giant announced plans on Thursday to donate 50,000 free rides to domestic violence organizations in more than 30 cities across 16 countries.”

Due to social distancing measures and self-quarantining, many victims of domestic abuse are stuck indoors with their abusers. Domestic violence cases are on the rise around the world.

Public transportation is severely limited right now amid the coronavirus pandemic, making it very difficult for victims to escape, particularly those who are not financially independent.

The outlet quoted the vice president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Allison Randall. She explained that many people living with an abuser might not even have access to a car, as that person could be controlling their access.

“A lack of transportation is a huge barrier for survivors of domestic violence every day of the week. And that’s really exacerbated by COVID-19,” said Randall.

She continued, saying that many local shelters are in communication with local women trying to escape from toxic home environments. By maintaining their emergency hotlines, they will be able to deploy rides as needed.

It will be up to the individual shelters to decide how to fairly disperse the free rides from Uber to victims in the direst situations.

“We’re providing those ride codes to the actual organization and then they will work with the survivor to determine what would be a safe location to take them to,” said Tracey Breeden, who is head of the gender-based violence and women’s safety programs at Uber.

USA Today reports that Uber is also planning to donate 45,000 meals to domestic violence survivors currently living in shelters.

Uber’s decision to donate to victims has earned it a great deal of praise on social media. Many people are tweeting their support to the company and thanking it for their aid.

Helping abuse survivors is not the only way Uber is planning to give back. Earlier this month, USA Today shared that the company would donate 10 million free rides to healthcare workers and other people on the frontlines of the pandemic.

Previously, The Inquisitr reported that Uber was urging people not to use their services amid the pandemic. The company released a 60-second advertisement asking people to stay home and self-isolate as much as they can.