Airlift suspends operations till April 6, Careem closes bus services

Ride-hailing services are also suspending their operations as Pakistan continues to grapple with the outbreak of the coronavirus. The country has reported 287 cases so far.

Schools, wedding halls and many flea markets have already been closed and many offices have allowed their employees to work from their homes to stop the spread of the virus.

SAMAA
Digital got in touch with different ride-hailing services and
talked to them about the measures they have taken to fight the pandemic.

Airlift

Airlift, an app that allows people to book rides on buses
and vans, announced on Wednesday that it is suspending its operations in
Karachi and Lahore till April 6.

In a statement on social media, they said that they have
taken the step to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

The rides will continue as planned on Wednesday while those
who had booked their rides in advance from Wednesday onwards will be refunded.

Careem

Careem, in response to the pandemic, has decided to temporarily
suspend its bus service on the government’s instructions. They, however, have
decided to continue their other services across Pakistan.  

The safety and well-being of all those who use Careem is a top
priority for us, said the company’s spokesperson in a statement. “Our COVID-19 response
team is closely monitoring and following the guidelines of the World Health
Organization and are in touch with local government and public health authorities
for any latest developments,” the statement added.

“We have rolled out a set of instructions, for both our
captains and riders, however, since our service does not include human
interaction, we did not feel the suspension of the service was necessary, said
Careem’s communication head.

They, however, confirmed a slump in their demand as many
restaurants have been closed and office employees working from home.  

SVWL

SWVL, another ride-hailing service, said that it has taken measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

“We have installed hand-sanitisers in all of our buses,”
said SWVL General Manager Shahzeb Memon. “We have cut down our number of buses
to half and also reduced the capacity.”

SVWL says it used to cater to around 70,000 commuters per across Pakistan but now it will be half of it. The step is to make sure our commuters have enough space with the least chance of close interaction, Memon said.

Bykea

Bykea confirmed they experienced a 15% slump in their demand. “We have not taken any operational steps because our service has the least chance of adding to the spread,” said Danish, an employee.

“We will still have business with informal rides (where
their partners can reach out to people on the roads, for the rides) and our
delivery services with the closure of restaurants,” he remarked.

Uber

We are aware of the corona
outbreak and are concerned for the safety of every individual on our platform,
said Uber’s Hyder Bilgrami.

We have the best teams of operations, security and safety executive departments, and these teams work in line with our health advisory, he said. “We operate in close contacts with relevant local authorities and will consider their recommendations.”

Local
bus services

Other than the digital ride-hailing services, bus transport services of Karachi have confirmed they are neither suspending their operations nor are they cutting down their services.

“We are proud of our services and they will not be suspended,”
said Irshad Bukhari, a representative of the transport association of Karachi.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/money/2020/03/airlift-suspends-operations-till-april-6-careem-closes-bus-services/