WASHINGTON — Uber has launched its UberEATS in the District, and for a fee, you can get food from one of about 100 restaurants in D.C. delivered in about a half an hour.
The UberEATS app includes access to full menus, with deliveries available from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The delivery charge is a flat $4.99, though the delivery charge is currently waived as part of a promotion. The food is delivered within 30 to 40 minutes.
How does the business model work for restaurants and Uber drivers?
“Uber will pay the driver. The user pays Uber a flat delivery fee, and we receive a little bit of money from the restaurants to help offset the extra driver payments, and we pay the driver directly,” Uber’s Brian Gelb tells WTOP.
UberEATS is available throughout the District, though Gelb says there are plans to expand the delivery service to suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia soon.
Uber began testing the full restaurant delivery app in Toronto in January, and recently rolled it out in other cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago.
The UberEATS app is an extension of Uber’s existing InstantEATS, which works with about a half dozen restaurants daily and picks one item from each restaurant. Those pre-made lunches are delivered within 10 minutes.
