Uber and Lyft temporarily suspend rideshare service

The popular delivery and rideshare apps, Uber and Lyft, have temporarily suspended their carpool services in the United States and Canada in the hopes of slowing down the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to NPR.

Both services allow passengers to carpool if heading in the same direction to allow for cheaper rates, but cities across the continent are asking people to cut nonessential travel and to remain at a social distance from each other of at least 6 feet.

Uber and Lyft have decided to suspend their services based on the public health recommendations. "Our goal is to help flatten the curve of community spread in the cities we serve," said Andrew Macdonald, an Uber executive.

"We remain in close contact with local leaders and will continue to work with them to discourage nonessential travel."

A Lyft spokeswoman said: "The health and safety of the Lyft community is our top priority, and we're dedicated to doing what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and base our actions on official guidance."

The companies will both continue offering their regular ride services and UberEats, an offshoot of the Uber app that allows people home food delivery, will also be operating as normal.

Uber is also notifying passengers of the public health recommendations to only travel when necessary.

Both companies have their headquarters located in San Francisco, a city which has implemented some of the strictest restrictions on movement and business anywhere in the United States.