Transport app Uber trials lunch delivery scheme in California
Uber has expanded upon a month of transport innovation trials, announcing a new lunch delivery scheme called UberFresh on Wednesday.
Couriers will deliver pre-ordered healthy meals to app users
UberFresh, being trialed in Santa Monica, California, allows app users to schedule lunch deliveries from selected food outlets to be delivered within an hour.
The service, running from 11:30am to 2:30pm, will see hungry users delivered meals from a pre-set list of healthy menus from participating restaurants.
Users need only select the meal and provide a delivery location to selected couriers. Additionally, there will be no delivery fee for using the service.
This comes as the delivery firm gears up for international expansion after it last week announced its appointment of president Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, who will oversee the firm’s campaign policies.
The UberFresh blog said: “UberFresh delivers you healthy, fresh food in about 10 minutes. Rather than standing in long restaurant lines, trying to find parking at your favorite restaurant, or dealing with unpredictable delivery times, UberFresh brings you a great lunch on-demand with none of the hassle.”
Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, said: “Once you’re delivering cars in five minutes, there are a lot of other things you can deliver in five minutes."
The experiment, running this week, will be extended if it is deemed a success by the company.
This comes after Uber last week launched a same-day grocery delivery scheme in Washington DC.