Uber will soon be delivering more than just people. The nation’s premier ridesharing service has announced it will be going live with meal delivery services in 10 U.S. cities.
The chosen 10 are likely also the expected 10 biggest, and going forward, Uber enthusiasts will be able to choose meals from dozen of local restaurants via an UberEATS app. The program is an outgrowth of the firm’s lunchtime-only service. The newest version will leverage its large network of drivers to deliver goods and people.
Uber is entering a vertical of food delivery services that is already crowded and difficult, as a few of the VC-backed meal delivery services have already begun to struggle bringing their concepts to scale. Early Uber competitor Sidecar Technologies shut down last month after selling its assets to General Motors following a failed experiment in food and package delivery.
Sidecar Cofounder and Chief Executive Sunil Paul said in a Medium post that his company “out-innovated Uber but still failed to win the market … because Uber is willing to win at any cost and they have practically limitless capital to do it.”
Small-scale logistics has long been an interest of Uber’s, but so far, the company’s track record of success is limited. The firm has tried B2B deliveries, as well as somewhat exotic deliveries, like toothpaste, designer suits and Christmas trees. Most garnered lots of attention but didn’t do much in the way of revenue generation.
For now, Uber confirms that regular Uber drivers who wish to can receive additional training (in food delivery) and can voluntarily sign on to the program. Uber will charge a $5 delivery fee (this could vary by city) for meals, and the driver will receive a share of that fee. It will also charge the restaurant an undisclosed fee per order.
The app will launch for iOS and Android in March (though there may be a lag of a week or two).
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