Uber endorses the RESTAURANTS Act to support independent restaurants

By Danielle Burr, Head of Federal Affairs

Perhaps no industry has been harder hit by the COVID-19 crisis and resulting economic downturn than the service sector, including our favorite restaurants in communities around the world. At Uber, we’re working around the clock to help our restaurant partners as best we can, with a number of new efforts launched in just the last couple of weeks. In addition to these new investments, today we’re calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan RESTAURANTS Act and provide additional much-needed relief for independent restaurants across the country.

The RESTAURANTS Act would establish a $120 billion fund for the hardest-hit independent food service and drinking establishments, a critical source of aid for the restaurant community amid these challenging times. We applaud the effort of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) to introduce the legislation and reaffirm our commitment to support and provide opportunities to struggling restaurants all over the country.

At Uber, we have seen how important on-demand delivery is to help restaurants reach new and existing customers while many are unable to reopen in-person dining. One piece of new research found that third-party delivery has helped restaurants keep staff on payroll during the crisis, with 76 percent of operators who partner with Uber Eats saying they would have had to close their doors without this partnership.

We’re committed to doing our part to support independent restaurants as well. We waived the delivery fee for all orders from the more than 100,000 local restaurants on Uber Eats and launched a daily pay-out feature to help manage cash-flow. These initiatives are designed to make it easier and quicker for restaurants to join Uber Eats. We also introduced a first-of-its kind feature for customers to donate directly to restaurants; to-date, Uber Eats customers have contributed more than $17 million to local restaurants.

Our work to help restaurants across the country is ongoing, and legislation like the RESTAURANTS Act will offer additional support during the COVID-19 crisis. We’re committed to working with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to ensure this much-needed relief continues to garner bipartisan support and becomes law.