UK Edition
UberEats to launch in Birmingham in expansion of food delivery efforts
Uber is planning to launch its food-delivery service outside London for the first time, expanding its share of the rapidly growing market as it tackles Deliveroo, Just Eat and Amazon.
The American cab-hailing app is planning to build on the UberEats service it launched in the capital two months ago, by starting to deliver restaurant meals outside Zone 1, as well as into Birmingham and other cities in the coming months.
The company’s job listings show vacancies for UberEats manager roles in Birmingham, as well as London-based “expansion” positions.
Uber, best known as the app that has enraged taxi drivers and troubled regulators by allowing passengers to easily hail minicabs with a smartphone, is already aiming to spread the food-delivery service across Europe.
UberEats runs a network of bicycle and moped couriers, who deliver meals from restaurants and charge them a per-order fee.
The service is a direct challenger to Deliveroo, the British start-up that has raised almost $500m (£382m) and expanded into dozens of UK towns and cities. Amazon is also believed to be planning a similar competitor.
UberEats was launched in London and Paris in June, and says its dedicated app has been downloaded by more than 100,000 Londoners.
“We’re very encouraged by the growth we’ve seen in both London and Paris, and are investing heavily to bring UberEats to new cities across Europe,” said Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, head of operations in Europe.
The company is currently embroiled in a spat with Transport for London over plans to introduce written English language tests for drivers. Last week, Uber said it would seek a judicial review into the proposals.