UberEATS debuting in Chicago and New York City
Uber has announced that UberEATS, its new online meal delivery service, will launching in Chicago and New York City this week. In a notice posted today (28 April) on the blog of Uber’s website, the company said that the service has already been piloted in Los Angeles and Barcelona.
The food delivery service is available through the Uber app and uses the same cashless payment system as an Uber cab ride. Uber said that it is “partnering with the best local restaurants” and the meals will arrive “in ten minutes or less”. Deliveries are made curbside, not to the customer’s door or office.
In Los Angeles UberEATS delivers at lunch and dinner times, with a brunch service available at the weekend. In Chicago and New York it is currently only providing a lunch service, delivering from 11 am to 2 pm.
UberEATSis one of the new ventures which Uber has developed out of its core online cab booking business.
Established in 2009, San Francisco-based Uber operates a mobile app that allows customers to submit a trip request, which is then routed to “crowd-sourced” drivers.
Customers book the ride through the Uber app and, at the end of the ride, the fare is automatically billed to their credit card.
Although Uber has attracted considerable criticism for its marketing and lobbying strategies, the system has shown impressive growth: it is now available in 55 countries and more than 200 cities worldwide.
After rolling out UberCab globally, the company introduced a new service, called UberPop, in Paris last year. UberPop links customers to drivers without professional taxi or chauffeur licences – and not surprisingly it has met with strong opposition from the licensed taxi fraternity. The company also offers a car pooling option, called Uberpool, in some locations.
UberEATS is not the company’s only offering for the delivery market. Last year, it tested a parcel courier service called UberRUSH in Manhattan which has since rolled out into New Jersey. In Washington DC it offers a delivery service for household items called UberESSENTIALS. The company has plans to expand and develop both these delivery services.
As previously reported, a number of other companies have also been launching online food delivery systems in New York – but Uber does have a “critical mass” that sets it apart from most of its rivals.
