Uber offers NHS nurses free taxi rides this Christmas

This article was taken from: https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/people/uber-offers-nhs-nurses-free-taxi-rides-this-christmas/7027090.article

By Megan Ford at the Nursing Times

NHS nurses in England will be able to access free taxi rides to and from work over the festive period.

Using an official NHS email address, nurses can register to claim two £10 Uber codes to use when public transport is either closed or limited on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“So many of our selfless NHS staff give up their holidays to care for those who need it most”

Matt Hancock

The offer will be available to all NHS staff as part of Uber’s initiative to ensure they spend less time travelling and more time with their loved ones during the festive season.

Uber is expecting the demand to be high as NHS England 2017 figures revealed 350,000 NHS staff went to work on Christmas Day last year.

This included 97,000 nurses, 53,000 nursing assistants, 176,000 care workers, 12,000 ambulance drivers and 12,000 midwives.

“We hope that this offer will help them get home to their families sooner”

Jamie Heywood

Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “Everyone wants to be home with their families for Christmas Day but so many of our selfless NHS staff give up their holidays to care for those who need it most.

“It’s great that Uber have agreed to step in and offer a free ride home this Christmas and I hope this makes life a little easier for our dedicated NHS workers,” he added.

Jamie Heywood, Uber’s general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said: “NHS staff will have enough to worry about this Christmas, so we’d like to at least try to take care of their travel.

“During a time when it isn’t always easy to get from A to B, we hope that this offer will help them get home to their families sooner,” he added.

NHS staff can claim their two free Uber trips by visiting www.uber.com/nhs and entering their official email address by 9am on 24 December.

The codes can be redeemed from 24 December to 26 December.