Soon You’ll Need a Face Mask to Take Uber
You will soon need to wear a face mask if you want to ride Uber.
Going forward, the rider-sharing company plans to make it mandatory for both riders and riders to wear masks, scarves or other nose and mouth covers. The plan was originally leaked to CNN over the weekend and was confirmed late last night by Uber in USA Today.
We’ve written extensively about the benefits of wearing a face mask in public . This can lower your risk of infection, but it will certainly reduce the amount of germs you can pass on to others. And since COVID-19 can be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers who show no symptoms of the disease, wearing a face mask even when you feel good can help prevent it from spreading to other people.
While research on the effectiveness of wearing masks is still ongoing , it’s safe to say that traveling with both the driver and the passenger wearing masks will be safer for both of them. That’s why, while wearing a face mask on your Uber isn’t necessary yet, it should be done right away.
Uber plans to enforce this policy only after it can deliver masks and safety gear to drivers, and urges passengers and drivers to implement it now if possible.
The company has already sent or is sending 1.4 million masks to drivers. Delivery priority has been given to cities where mask use is mandatory, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
The company is also reportedly working on detection technology in its applications that will ensure that the driver wears a face mask before accepting a ride and that the rider wears one before booking.
Uber plans to communicate the mask requirements directly to its customers when it is ready to implement the policy.
Lyft has yet to announce a mask policy, although we shouldn’t be surprised if it follows suit and makes the masking requirement mandatory. Many major airlines said last week that masks will be required in the future shortly after JetBlue was the first to do so.