Lately, with all the regulatory storms swirling around Uber, when news is reported on the ride-hailing company it’s not usually positive. But yesterday, Uber had its own bundle of news — this time, all good.
To start, Uber announced that it would be financing its eligible drivers to receive an Uber gas credit card. This enables eligible Uber drivers to enroll in the Momentum Driver Rewards program known as the Partner Fuel Card, which is powered by FleetCor and MasterCard. Drivers can spend up to $200 on gas a week, which is later deducted for their driving earnings, Forbes reported.
Uber’s vice president of strategic initiatives David Richter called this option a “driver retention strategy,” because unlike a typical credit card, drivers can get access to credit without a credit check, giving them quicker access to pay for gas upfront. Not only is Uber connecting drivers to riders, now it’s connecting drivers to credit, regardless of their situation.
“We’ve worked to develop an exclusive set of discounts, and eligible Uber partners will be able to unlock significant savings of up to 15 cents per gallon whenever they fill up at gas stations across the country,” Uber wrote in on its blog. ExxonMobil will provide cardholders at least 3 cents off per gallon at its Exxon and Mobil-branded stations in Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. For those in the Northeast using Global Partner gas stations, cardholders can receive 9 cents off per gallon.
“In addition, cardholders will receive an automatic 1.5 percent off on fuel purchases everywhere MasterCard is accepted and additional discounts at independent gas stations across the country,” Uber announced.
In other news, Uber announced that it plans to create 1 million jobs in the next five years, and all for women. To kick off that plan, Uber has focused its efforts in Chicago, The Chicago Tribune reported. Uber is partnering with YWCA Metropolitan Chicago in it new program, Drive to Thrive, that plans to recruit more female drivers. Uber first announced its plans to create more jobs in March.
“The demand for rides continues to grow daily, and these economic opportunities are ready and waiting,” Brooke Anderson, Uber’s Midwest communications director, told The Tribune.
In other news, Uber announced it was updating its privacy statement, which goes into effect July 15. “Uber collects information about you when you use our mobile applications, websites, and other online products and services…and through other interactions and communications you have with us,” the new privacy statement reads.
That information includes: location information, contacts information (with permission), transaction information (type of service, data, time, amount charged, distance traveled, and other details), device information, call and SMS data between users and drivers and log information for anyone interacting with Uber’s services.
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