On the surface, UberEATS is a brilliant idea. Instead of driving around and bringing a car to those in need of a ride, UberEATS turns virtually any restaurant into a delivery restaurant and charges accordingly. A great idea seldom comes without cost, though, and some UberEATS users will be facing higher charges soon.
The good news is that the charges will be comparatively limited in impact, and many may never actually see price hikes at all. Uber, who runs UberEATS, noted that it would be hiking prices for those in certain cities who ordered from certain restaurants that were in high demand, but where delivery partners were slim.
Those who wonder just which restaurants will be affected when will have an easy way to tell, reports note, as an arrow below the name of the restaurant will make it clear that this is one of the fee-raised restaurants in question, and the amount of the delivery fee will be made clear before checkout.
With the extra money, Uber plans to offer its various delivery drivers incentive bonuses, along with meeting certain other operational costs, a move which will help Uber better set up its paths and get the best service to those ordering.
It’s no surprise UberEATS is doing as well as it is; the notion that any restaurant could be a delivery restaurant is an exciting one. The problem here, though, is that Uber really only has so much room to raise rates before it makes for a better incentive to step in.
The notion of using drone aircraft as a food service delivery option has been widely considered, and though the Federal Aviation Administration is proving more hindrance than help on that point, the idea has not yet gone away.
Some—like yours truly on these pages—have even advanced the notion of remote-controlled self-driving cars used as delivery vehicles. If that ever takes off, UberEATS will likely be run out of the picture unless it can develop a way to keep interest in the system.
Still, it’s a great idea, and for right now, UberEATS may be the only such game in town. Though for how long is anyone’s guess.