At Uber, we’re helping partners in Sri Lanka achieve their dreams through mobility, by caring for our communities. The positive effects we’ve had on Sri Lankans have been well understood and documented in “The Impact of Uber in Sri Lanka”, a detailed report researched and published by Public First, UK, an independent UK-based consultancy.
On-Demand Services Helped Boost Small Business Recovery – Through Uber Eats, we helped and encouraged Sri Lankans to support local restaurants and merchants, which they may otherwise have not had access to. This helped us to unlock LKR 2.1 billion in additional revenue for small businesses in Sri Lanka, while having a gross impact worth LKR 51 billion on the Sri Lankan economy as a whole.
Driver and Delivery Partners Value Flexibility – Widely highlighted and reported in “The Impact of Uber in Sri Lanka”, flexibility was a key reason our partners chose Uber, with 35% saying schedule flexibility was important to them when looking for work. In 2021, we estimate that this increased flexibility was worth LKR 1.2 billion to drivers and delivery partners, and that they made an additional LKR 775 million a year in earnings directly as a result of being on Uber. This was, on average, 27% more than their next best income alternative.
Driver and Delivery Partners are Satisfied and Inspired – 61% said that they are completely satisfied with their experience being on Uber. Only 17% said they would look for another part-time job, while 30% said that Uber has inspired them to consider starting their own business or otherwise working for themselves.
How We Help Dreams Become Reality
Apart from the daily stream of micro-opportunities we provide our partners with on a daily basis, we’ve also gone out of our way to do more. Celebrating 4 years in Sri Lanka, we contributed more than LKR 3 million to support delivery partners and their families.
One of our now ongoing programmes is Uber Delivery Scholar, which is currently in its 2nd edition, and is an initiative that helps support delivery partners and their children to achieve academic goals. Uber Delivery Scholar provides scholarships and gifts, including school stationary for children of delivery partners for one whole year. The programme also provides scholarships worth LKR 40,000 each, to empower qualifying delivery partners to pursue certificate courses at the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM).
In Their Own Words
Manjula De Silva is a Driver Partner for Uber X, and has been on Uber for over 6 years. In that time, he’s completed 17,500 trips, with an exceptional rating of 4.94, and has showcased exceptional care for passengers and always provided top-quality service.
Talking about how Uber has helped him, Manjula says, “I’ve been working with Uber for over 6 years now. In the beginning, I rented out a car from another guy and worked with Uber. After that, from the money I generated from Uber Rides, I’m really proud to say I have bought a new vehicle of my own thanks to the support given by Uber. I was awarded many times by Uber because, when we honestly work with Uber, they don’t think twice about treating us very well. That’s why we are always truly grateful for Uber.”
A Tip to Help Achieve Dreams
Did you know that your tips go a long way for our driver and delivery partners? And, that 100% of your tips go to them? So, the next time your use Uber, remember that even a small tip can help people like Manjula get closer to achieving their dreams. This way, we can all help each other thrive as one Sri Lanka!