With a new discount for Uber drivers, GetUpside is looking to offer a leg up to the gig economy

On the heels of last year’s partnerships with GasBuddy and Checkout 51, GetUpside has a brand new transportation-focused agreement, this time offering a deep discount to Uber drivers at the pump.

The downtown DC company offers rewards on purchases at 30,000 stores and restaurants across the country, cofounder Wayne Lin told Technical.ly, with plans to add 20,000 more by the end of the year. Its app, which is available on iOS and Android, uses machine learning to determine what type of discounts are most appealing to each consumer. The Uber partnership offers 35 cents off gas fill-ups for Uber drivers on their first two uses of the GetUpside app, and a discount of up to 25 cents thereafter, plus up to 22% off cashback on convenience store purchases. The discount is available nationwide, although drivers in New Jersey and Wisconsin are not eligible.

BREAKING NEWS: @Uber and GetUpside have joined forces! We've got exciting news for all drivers on the Uber platform! 🚘 Get the scoop here: https://t.co/EXqbftjvV1#newpartnership #cashback #togetherwethrive pic.twitter.com/fEekYxM7nF

— Upside (@upside) August 17, 2021

Lin said the partnership with Uber follows its huge growth and outreach into the gig economy in 2020, when it developed agreements with Instacart and DoorDash. GetUpside also grew its employee count around 30% to 250 employees this year.

“It fits in our mission of helping people in our communities,” Lin, who is the company’s COO, said. “Gig economy workers are a large segment, a large category of people that are employed in our communities…They’re independent workers that are running their own business and so for them, helping them save money, and spending less on fuel directly leads to some more profit and take home income.”

The decision to offer this type of discounts to drivers, Lin said, came from multiple discussions with Uber and its drivers on what would be most helpful in their work.

“We are constantly asking those who drive and deliver with Uber for their feedback on ways to improve the experience on the platform,” said Carrol Chang, Uber’s head of driver operations for the U.S. and Canada, in a statement. “Fuel and convenience store discounts were among the most requested, and we’re thrilled to be able to incorporate driver feedback into this partnership, which will give them the access to save at the pump as well as in-store purchases they have told us they want.”

In many ways, this is the culmination of five years of work for me, and many people that joined us on the journey.

It also goes back to some of GetUpside’s roots. Lin said that back when the company first started in 2015, it offered a discount to DMV Uber drivers to help get off the ground and spread the word about its launch. Now, he said, GetUpside now offers the largest fuel network in the US with its discounts. He added that this is only the beginning of the company’s partnership with the rideshare business, which was announced in early August, and more collaborations are on the way.

“In many ways, this is the culmination of five years of work for me, and many people that joined us on the journey, to say, hey we are a nationwide network now,” Lin said.

GetUpside’s growth, Lin said, is also likely to continue. The company currently has 100 open positions, and with the 20,000 new businesses it hopes to add even more categories of commerce with small and national businesses.

“This mission of…connecting these two sides, bringing many more types of consumers in and many more merchants, you create this vibrant marketplace,” Lin said. “So that’s where we’re going.”