Uber sees record gross bookings in March

PITTSBURGH — Finding yourself an Uber these days means a longer wait and a pricier ride. And as states begin to relax restrictions the company says demand is only going up.

On Monday, Uber posted record gross bookings in the month of March, signaling a pickup in demand for its ride-hailing business. The tech giant’s mobility unit was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic last year as lockdown restrictions led to a collapse in demand for ride-sharing services. A boom in food delivery, however, helped limit losses in 2020.

Uber said its mobility segment, or ride-hailing business, posted its best month since March 2020, with an annualized run rate of $30 billion. That was up 9% from a month earlier. Its delivery unit reached a record annual run rate of $52 billion in March, more than doubling from the previous year.

“As vaccination rates increase in the United States, we are observing that consumer demand for mobility is recovering faster than driver availability, and consumer demand for delivery continues to exceed courier availability,” Uber said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of Uber climbed more than 2% in U.S. premarket trading.

In an effort to relieve the stress on riders the company is stepping up with a $250 million stimulus package aimed at getting drivers back on the road that Uber public affairs manager Harry Hartfield says should be a win-win. The money will go toward bonuses for drivers, guaranteed pay and on-boarding new drivers. The plan comes as states begin to pull back some of their pandemic restrictions and roll out vaccines.

“In Pittsburgh specifically, the average earnings for drivers last week was around $25 an hour. Without tips. And next week, going forward we expect those earnings are going to jump up to around $35-$36 an hour,” Hartfield said.

And the hope is that the extra money for drivers is going to get more drivers to sign up which in turn will mean shorter wait times and cheaper rides for customers.

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Cox Media Group