United Ukraine Local Support Uber

Throughout the crisis in Ukraine, ITA’s U.S. Commercial Service team at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, worked closely with Uber, the popular ride-hailing service, to identify and launch a range of initiatives which included providing free transportation services to refugees and delivering frontline emergency services and supplies.
 
With guidance from our team, Uber has provided free transportation for Ukrainian refugees crossing into Poland from border checkpoints to major cities where accommodation and key support services are concentrated. Similarly, Uber is providing free transportation for the staff of local charitable organizations, as well as for the major international relief agencies that have concentrated their immediate response efforts in Poland. Uber has also given free rides to anyone dropping off donations of essential supplies and clothing at NGO collection points across Poland. 

In addition to free transportation, Uber has raised $5 million for relief agencies operating in Poland through a combination of its own contributions and donations sourced via its app from users across Europe and the United States.
 
Uber’s ability to make an immediate contribution stems from several years of U.S. Commercial Service collaboration to help Uber enter the Polish market and invested heavily in the country.

“The Commercial Service team at the Warsaw embassy has been an absolutely essential partner in Uber’s work to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The team’s expert advice and active assistance has helped enormously as we try to navigate a complex and fast-evolving situation, allowing us to move with greater speed and at greater scale to support both Ukrainian refugees and the Polish communities who are so generously welcoming them.” – Matthew Devlin, Head of International Affairs, Uber