Vouchers offered to cover cost of trips to vaccination centres
By Lizzie May
A taxi company has donated free round-trip vouchers to help older people who are not able to get to their vaccination appointments.
Age UK Lewisham and Southwark has teamed up with Uber to offer up to £15 off round trips to some of the most vulnerable people to get their Covid-19 vaccination.
The offer covers trips to six London mass-vaccination centres, including the Excel Centre in Greenwich and Westfield Stratford City.
The Lewisham and Southwark branch of the charity are offering to book the round trips on behalf of people who cannot travel to their appointments themselves.
Do you know an older person in Lewisham/Southwark who cannot get to their Vaccination appointment?@Uber has generously donated some vouchers so now we can book a round trip free of charge @LASwark @BlackfriarsSett @Time_Talents @SwarkPensioners
Give us a 📞020 7358 4077 pic.twitter.com/uX6E7HsG8k
— Age UK Lewisham & Southwark (@AgeUKLS) February 16, 2021
Hannorah Lee, Director of Partnerships at Age UK said: “This has been an extremely challenging time for millions of older people across the country.
“Many have spent almost a year shielding and missing out on seeing their loved ones in a bid to reduce their risk.
“We’re extremely grateful to Uber for giving free journeys to Age UK, so that where possible, we can support our volunteers to help older people get to their vaccination appointments.
“This will certainly help ensure that as many older people as possible are vaccinated.”
Passengers looking to make use of the discounted ride have to enter a promotion code in the wallet section of the Uber app.
The codes match to specific destinations that are requested by the user, for example they would use UBERUKEX for the Excel Centre and UBERUKED for Westfield.
Age UK is currently identifying more areas within its network of local charities to try and help more older people who are due to get the vaccine.
Jamie Heywood, regional General Manager at Uber said: “It’s vital that the most vulnerable people in our society are vaccinated against the virus as soon as possible.
“We want to help remove any barriers that could prevent them from travelling safely to get their jab.”
Those who this applies to in Lewisham and Southwark are encouraged to call 020 7358 4077 for the free trip.