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UberEats has London's need for late-night munch covered
We've all been there. You get home late, the local chippy has shut up shop for the night, and you're starving. In London, UberEats already has the hangover cure covered with the addition of breakfast deliveries earlier this year. Now, the service wants to cash in on late-night munchies in the capital too. As of today, UberEats has extended its London opening hours from 11PM to 2AM, with over 150 partner "restaurants" able to meet your midnight snack requirements -- calling them restaurants might be a bit of a stretch, because we're talking Papa Johns, Roosters PiriPiri and similar establishments that serve ravenous dinner-skippers already.
UberEats food deliveries come to Edinburgh
After launching in London last summer, Uber's food delivery service UberEats has expanded to Manchester, Birmingham, and recently, it added the useful option of scheduling post-pub burger drop-offs ahead of time. Tomorrow, UberEats is heading further north to its first Scottish city of Edinburgh, where deliveries from over 70 partner restaurants will be available from 11AM (no breakfast option yet, we're afraid). Deliveroo has been operating in Edinburgh for the best part of two years now, so expensive on-demand grub isn't entirely new to its residents, but more choice is never a bad thing.
Google's Areo app can order a plate of food or a plumber
Google has a new app you can't access unless you live in Bangalore and Mumbai, India -- and it's a shame, because it sounds pretty darn useful. The app called Areo combines food delivery and home services in one. You can use it to order meals from your favorite restaurants, since it has menus of participating locations like what you'd expect from typical food delivery apps. But here's where it differs from the rest: it can also book local pros like carpenters, plumbers, electricians and make-up artists in case what you need is someone to help you with a leaky toilet, a home expansion project or a wedding celebration.
UberEats is now available in Manchester
Uber is taking on Deliveroo, slowly. The company's food delivery service, UberEats, is now available in Manchester, following a gradual expansion in London that now includes a breakfast service. The northwest city is an obvious target for the company, given its large population size and the number of big-name restaurants and cafes nearby. The service will be live seven days a week, from 11am to 11pm (so no brekkie option just yet) in "city centre hotspots" such as the Northern Quarter and Spinningfields. Deliveroo is already active in the city, so Uber will need to fight hard to win over customers. Good thing hyper-aggressive expansions are its forte. Hello Manchester! The new UberEATS app has arrived. Explore local menus: https://t.co/8fU2eW7u51 #UberEATS pic.twitter.com/rCSdvgZmqv — Uber UK (@UberUK) February 9, 2017
UberEats now does breakfast in London
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. The alarm goes off and instinctively you roll over, hit the snooze button and close your eyes once more. Breakfast can wait. We've all made this sleep-deprived decision, only to skip brekkie entirely when we realise we're running late for work. Unsurprisingly, there's now an app for that. Starting tomorrow, Uber is offering a breakfast service through its UberEats app in London. So whereas before the service started at 11am, cutting off at 11pm, you can now make an order from 7am in the capital.
Deliveroo Plus is a £9 subscription for takeout addicts
Deliveroo has made an impact in the UK because it allows hungry so-and-sos to order from their favorite big name restaurants, such as PizzaExpress, Wagamama, Giraffe and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. But you pay for the privilege -- Deliveroo typically charges £2.50 on top of your regular order. If that sounds too expensive, or you're simply addicted to the service, there's now Deliveroo Plus. For £8.99 per month, or £89 per year, you don't have to worry about individual delivery charges. You'll still need to pay for your grub, of course, but everything else will be taken care of. Think of it like Amazon Prime, but for food deliveries.
Just Eat devours takeaway rival Hungryhouse for £200 million
Just Eat, ravenous for global expansion, has bought rivals Hungryhouse and SkipTheDishes for £266 million. The two acquisitions will help the company to consolidate its position as one of the biggest food delivery startups on the planet. In the UK, Hungryhouse is one of its biggest rivals, with close but not quite equal marketing spend and brand recognition. Buying the brand from Delivery Hero for £200 million will increase Just Eat's scale and remove any threat it once posed. Likewise, picking up SkipTheDishes will bolster its business in Canada, while removing a potentially dangerous chess piece from an increasingly cluttered board.
Just Eat starts delivering takeaways by autonomous robot
Just Eat has today laid claim to delivering the first takeaway meal by autonomous robot. The online ordering company has been working with Starship Technologies since July, testing the latter's "last-mile" delivery robots in Greenwich, London. But these tamperproof, pavement-pounding boxes on wheels are now in active service in the area, after the first, apparently unknowing customer successfully received their falafel and lamb cutlets from a local Turkish eatery. While customers are not be able to actively choose robot as their preferred delivery option yet, Just Eat says Greenwich "will increasingly be serviced by the technology," ahead of plans to expand the rollout (no pun intended) to more parts of London next year.
Amazon adds restaurant deliveries to Prime Now in London
As if there weren't enough ways to order takeout in London, Amazon has jumped in with a Deliveroo-style competitor. If you live in the English capital and subscribe to Prime, you'll soon see a postcode option inside the Prime Now app. Chuck it in and -- provided you're in a supported neighbourhood -- you'll get a list of cafes and restaurants that are available for delivery. Amazon promises to complete each order in under an hour; in the US, the average drop-off takes less than 45 minutes, it claims.
UberEats drivers are revolting in London
Established food delivery service Deliveroo and recently launched UberEats might be competitors in the UK, but their drivers have found a common enemy in the businesses they work for. UberEats couriers have planned a protest outside Uber's London HQ today, over changes to their pay structure they say could lead to them earning less than the minimum wage, The Guardian reports.
UberEats food deliveries come to London
Walk anywhere in central London and you're bound to pass a Deliveroo cyclist, puffing and panting as they shuttle an enormous backpack filled with restaurant food. The service has taken off in the capital, but its supremacy could now be questioned by a ride-hailing giant: Uber. The company is launching UberEats in the city today, marking its first location in the UK and its second in Europe, after Paris. By downloading the UbeEats app or using the companion website, you can choose a restaurant, make an order and track its progress, from food preparation to delivery.
Uber's food delivery service is coming to London
In some parts of the world, Uber is known for more than just helping people get from A to B. UberEats, for example, is a food delivery service the company runs in various large North American cities, Paris, and as of a week ago, Singapore. It even has its own dedicated app in some places, and there are more than a few clues knocking around that point to the service launching in London in the near future. Uber is currently recruiting a "restaurant partnerships manager" and "marketing manager" for UberEats, both based in the capital, and according to BuzzFeed News, cyclists and scooter riders that will end up doing the legwork are being encouraged to pledge their allegiance prior to the service going live.
Uber shuts down its Instant Delivery food service in NYC
Uber has pulled the plug on Instant Delivery in New York City. The UberEats feature, which offers pre-set lunch items to be delivered in 10 minutes or less, had been available to people in The Big Apple since last year. But, as of today, that's no longer the case. "In order to bring you the most exciting selection, the highest quality food, and the fastest delivery time, we've decided to narrow our focus," Uber said in an email to users, explaining its decision to move away from that service.
Amazon UK to deliver fresh food with new Morrisons deal
Instead of taking the UK's supermarkets head-on, Amazon has decided to ally with them in order to boost the popularity of its Pantry service. The site, launched in November last year, allows Prime subscribers to remotely order more than 4,000 products with next-day delivery. Now, it's announced a deal with Morrisons -- a heavyweight supermarket in the UK -- that will add "hundreds" of new products to its platform. They'll also be available through Prime Now, a one-hour delivery service that's available in a smattering of cities. Morrisons says the new additions will appear on Amazon "in the coming months" and include fresh and frozen goods.
Domino's Pizza brings one-tap ordering to Apple Watch
If you're a Domino's Pizza addict, there's now a faster way to get some fresh slices hurtling towards your front door. The company has updated its Apple Watch app with "Easy Order," a feature that lets you set up a specific basket and then, when hunger strikes, order it again with a single tap. In the past that's been facilitated through the Domino's phone app and a physical button, but now it's available on the wrist too. If you're new to the whole experience, you'll need to visit the website first to set up your order. Once that's done, however, you should never have to do it again, unless you want to change your preferred pizzas or delivery address.As before, you can also use the Domino's Apple Watch app to track the status of your order. Useful if you're nursing a hangover and can't remember where you left your iPhone the night before.
Uber food delivery gets an app of its own
Uber has tried a wide variety of services as of late, but they've always been crammed into the company's main app. More than a little awkward, don't you think? Mercifully, it's splitting things up by giving UberEats an app of its own. The dedicated title (currently iOS-only) tries to beat GrubHub and Seamless at their own game by emphasizing simplicity in your food selection. There's an Instant Delivery menu that offers just a handful of items you can get in less than 10 minutes, and a popular item list for each restaurant. While you can order from full menus, Uber is betting that you'd like to avoid poring over dining choices at the end of a long day.
Amazon brings grocery deliveries to the UK with 'Pantry'
Clearly, Amazon isn't content with a small, AmazonFresh-style delivery service. The company is expanding its UK operations today with Amazon Pantry, a new way to order "everyday essentials." It's exclusive to Prime members and offers next-day delivery for more than 4,000 products, including basic food, drink, beauty products and cleaning supplies. The service isn't meant for fresh produce -- you can't order a pack of bacon or some bananas -- but rather cupboard regulars like cereal and tinned soup. As you pick items from Amazon's store, you'll see a "Pantry box" beginning to fill. The exact dimensions aren't clear (they're probably flexible) but Amazon says each one can hold 20kg. The first box in your order costs £2.99 to deliver, followed by 99 pence for each additional box. These prices are on top of your Prime membership and what you'll pay for each individual item.
Food delivery apps face lawsuits over employee benefits
The fight over employee benefits when it comes to app-based on-demand services continues. The Chicago Tribune reports that food delivery companies GrubHub, DoorDash and Caviar were all hit with separate lawsuits in San Francisco this week. The suits allege that each failed to offer employee benefits after treating them like full-time workers. In other words, the companies misclassified employees as contractors. If that sounds familiar it's because Uber facing a similar lawsuit in San Francisco over its drivers. In fact, the same attorney that represents plaintiffs in proceedings with Uber and Lyft is working with the delivery drivers in these three new cases. Like Uber, the suits against GrubHub and DoorDash are class actions while the demand arbitration request with Caviar is on behalf of a single driver. Based on the filings, GrubHub allegedly treated its workers as employees but failing to offer proper benefits like reimbursements for gas, parking and phone data. It also allegedly failed to meet wage requirements and offer overtime pay. [Image credit: Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Uber gets a second shot in Spain as a food delivery service
Uber still can't operate as a car-hailing service in Spain after being banned last year, but there's apparently no stopping it from bringing its other offerings into the country. So, the company has launched an on-demand food delivery service in Barcelona called UberEats, which brings customers meals from local restaurants within around 10 minutes. Sound familiar? That's because it's better known as "UberFresh" stateside... or at least in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, where it's available. Uber is working with Barcelona food guide website Plateselector to create a meal rotation, and everyday it's drivers' cars are stocked with packaged food for delivery.
Uber uses its fleet to deliver food with new 'UberFresh' service
Like Uber but instead of needing to go somewhere, you want to eat lunch? UberFresh is perfect for you. Oh wait, do you also live in Santa Monica, CA? Because then it's actually perfect for you. The service starts today, and, as advertised, you'll swipe to the "UberFresh" section of your Uber app and a driver will bring you lunch. No, you don't get in the car and go somewhere; think of it like app-based food delivery. For the service's initial launch, your lunch options are limited to a single item per day (there's a menu on Uber's site right here). Admittedly, the options for the first week look pretty delicious, and the Yelp rankings for each restaurant back up Uber's choices as at least somewhat legit. There's no update to download; you just have to live in Santa Monica and open up Uber. Head below the break for full instructions, care of Uber.
