After seeing initial success in Los Angeles and Barcelona, Uber on Tuesday launched its UberEATS service in New York and Chicago, promising customers direct delivery of fresh food in ten minutes or less.
UberEATS, like other "Uber Everything" projects, is built on the company's smartphone-based on-demand transportation services. For food logistics, the company partners up with local restaurants, offering customers a limited menu for speedy delivery.
With the New York City rollout, Uber is featuring an exclusive salad and NYC Cut sandwich -- a twist on a classic pastrami sandwich -- from restaurant American Cut. Other choices include selections from Num Pang, sweetgreen, Scarpetta, and more.
Uber manages to remain within the promised 10 minute delivery period by having drivers pick up batches of food off the curated menu, store them in heat retaining containers and deliver orders as they drive their normal rounds, reports Wired. It may not offer the same selection as other services, but UberEATS beats most on time saved.
The service runs through the official Uber app in a special section called EATS that activates from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dropping a pin brings up a View Menu option, which is used to designate the type and number of meals to be delivered.
Only customers located in the UberEATS coverage area are allowed to place an order. Currently, UberEATS New York is available in Manhattan from 40th St. to 14th St., and the Loop and River North in Chicago. Uber plans to expand services soon.