HNExpress Staff Reporter : In an effort to meet the increasing demand for oxygen across the country, Uber today announced a partnership with Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Limited (AMTZ) for providing an on-demand rental delivery service of life-saving oxygen concentrators to citizens across 12 cities.
COVID positive patients in home isolation will be able to rent oxygen concentrators through the O2Home app, at an affordable price of INR 300 to INR 400 per day. Uber’s free mobility support will enable convenient, swift and safe doorstep delivery of these oxygen concentrators to help save lives.
The service is operational across 12 Indian cities including Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Indore, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Pune, Jaipur and Raipur. The partnership will help scale this service to dozens more cities through Uber’s extensive mobility network that spans 90+ cities.
These free rides deployed to AMTZ will also help boost earning opportunities for drivers on Uber’s platform during these challenging times.
Talking about this initiative, Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said“Our goal is to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic collectively by building capacity to help save as many lives as we can. In the field of health, serving the needy is equivalent to serving God. AMTZ’s initiative to provide oxygen concentrators at an affordable price combined with Uber’s extensive mobility network will ensure oxygen support is delivered to every home swiftly and efficiently. I want to thank Uber, AMTZ and all stakeholders involved for this impactful partnership that is a source of great pride for the country and demonstrates how public and private players are coming together in India’s hour of need.”
Dr Jitendra Sharma, Founder CEO and MD, AMTZ, said,“Along with many medical devices, AMTZ manufactures Oxygen concentrators too, but buying them to use for a few days would be costly for a common man. The O2Home: Pan India Affordable Oxygen Concentrator Rental Program is a service innovation where the unparalleled strength of its partnership makes Oxygen Concentrators available to the needy and also at affordable rates”
Commenting on the partnership, Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia, said, “We’re pleased to partner with AMTZ for this lifesaving initiative. Our efforts will help meet the growing demand for oxygen during the ongoing second wave of COVID and will help the country be better prepared for what experts predict could be a third wave. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have supported our communities to #MoveWhatMatters and we will continue to leverage our mobility network to strengthen India’s healthcare infrastructure and help build back better!’’
As part of its larger commitment to help communities recover from the second wave, Uber recently announced an INR 3.65 crores free rides package for supporting NGOs specializing in emergency COVID relief efforts such as facilitating transportation of oxygen cylinders, concentrators, ventilators and other critical medical equipment.