Each December, Uber takes time to look back at the past year – from where we traveled, to what we ate, and so much more. But as we all well know, this year has been unlike any other.
In March, everything changed. As the pandemic took hold, the world came to a screeching halt and in just a few days, Uber went from connecting over 16 million trips a day to urging riders to stay home. The company committed to move only what mattered most: getting first responders to work, and getting food to those who needed it. And as everyone stayed home to stay safe, they found meaningful ways to use the Uber app.
By the numbers
- 10 Million: Uber has provided 10 million rides and deliveries of food to healthcare workers, seniors, and others in need, free of charge.
- $20 Million: Using the new donations feature in the Uber Eats app, customers contributed more than $20M to help their favorite restaurants.
- $50 Million: Uber allocated $50 million to purchase health & safety supplies for drivers and delivery people across the world.
- 30 Million: Uber purchased about 30 million masks/face covers, and have distributed them to more than 2.5 million drivers and couriers.
- 600,000: Uber sent 600,000 canisters of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to drivers in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Dallas and Washington D.C.
- 231 Million: Uber completed 231 million mask verifications across Eats and Rides since they launched the feature in an effort to keep communities safe.
- 99.5%: To date, 99.5 percent of trips have no reported mask issues.
- $24 Million: Uber provided $24 million in financial assistance for drivers and delivery people around the world who needed to stop earning on the Uber app due to COVID-19.
- $800 Million: Uber committed $800 million to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to electric vehicles by 2025.
- 0: Uber pledged to become a fully zero-emission platform by 2040.
Gratitude in crisis
Despite all of the adversity, folks were more thankful than ever this year, tipping more than 70% of the time, and 30% more generously than before. The states that tipped the most? Pennsylvania, Delaware and Michigan.
While riders and eaters across the world showed gratitude by tipping, they wrote kind notes, too:
- Fantastic service and riveting conversation! Felt like I’ve known him my entire life. [New York City]
- Gave me a mask when I forgot – real superhero. Thank you ! [Atlanta]
- You are an angel in this world, so nice to meet you! [New Jersey]
- You’re seriously the best driver I’ve ever had. Great conversation and so accommodating. If I could request you every single ride I would. [Salt Lake City]
- It felt more like I was getting a ride from a friend rather than a driver I didn’t know <3 [Dallas]
There’s no doubt people everywhere relied on delivery more than ever this year, and helped support restaurants when the culinary community needed it most.
A few food trends
The most popular day of the week for food delivery in 2020 was Friday, and the most popular time of the day to place an order was 6:00 PM. Using the “Share my Delivery” feature, one eater even sent treats over 10,535 miles away from San Francisco to Johannesburg.
And naturally, Uber noticed more than a few key food trends emerge this year:
- Comfort reigns supreme: While folks were stuck at home, they counted on comfort foods. In fact, 2020’s most searched and ordered foods include burgers and fries, burritos, pad thai and mac and cheese.
- Family dinners became the new norm: Families in Orange County, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and Orlando may have spent quarantine eating together most often.
- Morning buzz: While many people shifted to working from home this year, they still found ways to get their morning buzz.
- Quarantine cravings: During quarantine, requests for “extra sauce,” “no onion,” and “no cucumber” increased the most while requests for “no bacon,” “extra crispy”, and “dressing on the side” decreased.
- A new way to explore: While traveling the world was more difficult this year, eaters found ways to travel across cuisines. American, Italian, Mexican, Chinese and Japanese foods were the most popular, followed by Thai, Indian, French, Caribbean and Greek.
Insightful stuff – we look forward to 2021.
