PayPal Joins Uber’s Effort To Provide Transportation To US Vaccination Sites

PayPal Holdings, Inc. has become a part of Uber Technologies, Inc.‘s initiative to offer free or discounted trips to inoculation sites in the United States to help ensure that transportation isn’t a barrier to vaccine access, according to a Friday (Feb. 26) announcement.

“Over the past year, we have deployed our products, services and resources to help our customers and communities navigate the impacts of the pandemic,” PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman said in the announcement. “We are proud to join forces with Uber to extend these efforts to ensure that transportation is not a barrier to vaccine access, especially for those in under-resourced communities.”

Last December, Uber committed as many as 10 million free or discounted rides to make sure transportation doesn’t prevent people from getting vaccines. To help with the effort, PayPal is making a corporate contribution of $5 million to fund more rides. The company will also work with Uber to explore ways to leverage its “giving platform” to encourage individual contributions to the vaccine access initiative.

“Nobody should miss their shot at getting vaccinated because they lack transportation,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the announcement. “PayPal’s generous donation and support will go a long way to accelerate our efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccination, and we are excited to partner with them in the critically important months ahead.”

The collaboration is an extension of PayPal’s efforts to help underserved communities throughout the country, which have been most impacted by the pandemic. As part of those initiatives, PayPal provided minority and women-owned companies with access to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. In addition, it committed $535 million to support Black and minority-owned companies and communities in the United States.

On Dec. 9, PayPal Holdings, Inc. said that it processed a record-breaking $185 million globally on GivingTuesday, which was the most raised on its platform for the global day of giving since the event’s launch in 2012.