Uber Health Introduces New Feature In Aotearoa To Better Support Caregivers

Auckland, New Zealand 26 November 2024 - Uber New Zealand makes moves to address transportation barriers that limit access to care for those who need it most. Today, Uber Health announced the launch of its first consumer-facing feature for Kiwis, Uber Caregiver.

Uber Health is a technology solution for healthcare organisations across the public and private sector to help provide easy access to non-emergency rides for their clients. The new Uber Caregiver feature aims to alleviate the logistical, financial, and emotional challenges that caregivers face every day when arranging transport for their care recipients. With the launch of Uber Caregiver, our goal is to work closely with local businesses and government to provide users with more innovative consumer-facing Uber Health products.

Caregivers are the quiet champions of New Zealand, offering vital support to care recipients day in and day out. Today, nearly 1 in 10 Kiwis are taking on caregiving responsibilities, according to the Ministry of Health, and with the senior population projected to rise from 850,000 to 1.5 million in the next 30 years, the pressures on carers are only set to increase.

Uber Caregiver is designed to improve transportation coordination for caregivers and those they support. It enables a better way to book rides, manage payment, and track trips on behalf of those they care for. It aims to reduce the challenges of managing transport needs for medical appointments, social visits, and everyday errands.

"At Uber, we know that caregivers face significant pressures in juggling their everyday responsibilities. Whether you’re caring for a loved one, a friend, or if you’re a support worker caring for a client, the logistical challenge of arranging transport for care recipients often adds to that stress," says Emma Foley, Managing Director of Uber Australia and New Zealand.

The new feature will allow care receivers to seamlessly add their caregivers to the Uber app, empowering carers to book rides on behalf of those they support, using the care receiver’s preferred payment method. It also includes Uber’s always-on safety features, such as the ability to track the progress of rides and an all-new three-way in-app chat function built especially for Uber Caregiver, to ensure open communication between carers, passengers, and driver partners. Rides can be booked on demand or reserved up to 90 days in advance.

“Uber Caregiver is designed to provide a simple and reliable way to arrange transport . By making it easier to arrange reliable transportation for someone you care for, apply the best payment method for their trip, and know you can connect with the driver partner and rider in the event of the unexpected, we hope to help ease the load many caregivers experience. Through this new Uber Health offering, we hope it will help Kiwis live better and make their day-to-day lives just a little bit easier,” continues Foley.

According to Carers NZ’s 2022 ‘State of Caring in Aotearoa report’, up to 86% of carers provide a broad range of support in their day to day. This includes practical assistance, emotional guidance and facilitating social activities including transportation. However, the demands of caregiving often result in significant personal sacrifices, with over 70% of carers reporting high levels of stress, anxiety, or depression due to their responsibilities.

Uber Caregiver seeks to help tackle these challenges by leveraging Uber’s mobility network to support families and caregivers in keeping those they care for connected and engaged in their communities.

The launch of Uber Caregiver builds on Uber’s broader commitment to providing accessible transport, including the recent introduction of 0800 GO UBER in Aotearoa - a phone-based booking service for those who are not as comfortable booking rides via an app.

Carers NZ Chief Executive Officer Laurie Hilsgen says “More than a million New Zealanders support friends or family members who are frail, unwell, or have health conditions or disabilities. Often carers help to organise transport for loved ones – to medical appointments, school, or community activities – along with a myriad of other tasks.”

“Family carers juggle many things, including employment, and being able to organise safe, reliable transport is a big issue in New Zealand. Two thirds of family carers are women and almost 90% are of workforce age. We’re pleased Uber has a new service to make transport easier for everyone, including family carers.” says Hilsgen.

Globally, Uber Health has expanded access to healthcare with solutions like non-emergency medical transportation, prescription deliveries, and grocery services. As the service evolves in New Zealand, it’ll continue to harness Uber’s technology to empower caregivers and the people they care for.

How it works:

1. To set up Uber Caregiver, both the caregiver and care receiver will need an Uber account. 2. The care recipient will have to their preferred payment method. Once the payment method is added, the care recipient can designate a caregiver by selecting someone from their existing contacts or by entering their contact information manually. 3. The designated caregiver will then receive a notification of the request. If they do not have the Uber app, they will receive an SMS message instead.

4. Once the caregiver accepts, they can use the “Caregiver profile” to request and track services on behalf of the care recipient.

5. All Uber Caregiver trips include Uber’s always-on safety features, such as tracking the progress of rides and a three-way in-app chat function designed for open communication between caregivers, passengers, and driver partners. Rides can also be booked on demand or reserved up to 90 days in advance.

Read more at uber.com/caregiver.

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