Uber recruits bike couriers for downtown food delivery
The ride-booking company Uber is moving beyond drivers and cars and is now looking for bike couriers.
On Thursday, the company placed notices about its UberEats meal delivery service on bikes stored in parking racks in the downtown entertainment district. The notice urged bike riders to sign up as couriers.
“Want to get fit and earn money?” the paper hangers ask, urging cyclists to go to an Uber website that promotes both food delivery and other courier services. Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said the company’s delivery methods vary around the world, with New York using bike couriers and Paris using scooters.
“As the business continues to grow, we have been looking at new ways to meet demand. That includes determining interest from bicycle couriers in partnering with UberEats, just as many other delivery services do in Toronto.”
A slew of food delivery services have cropped up in Toronto recently, including Just Eat, Feast, Favour and Foodora, formerly known as Hurrier.
Uber says the need for bike couriers is unrelated to plans to launch UberRush, which operates in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. That service makes deliveries for small businesses — such as a florist with a bouquet or a tailor with alterations, as well as for big companies such as T Mobile and Nordstrom.
Sunil Johal, policy director at the University of Toronto’s Mowat Centre, said given that UberRush is operating in three U.S. cities, Toronto would be a logical next spot.
“This is just the next step to be the A to Z logistics company of the 21st century,” he said, noting Uber has proven it can deliver service to people quickly, efficiently and at low cost.
“They can scale up very quickly. No small company could compete with that,” Johal said, adding it could impact Canada Post, which is now focusing on parcel deliveries over letters.
On the UberRush website, it says drivers in Canada must be at least 21years old, with one year of driving experience, as well as have a driver’s licence, insurance and vehicle registration. They also must be able to lift 50 pounds.
For cyclists, they must be 19 years old and able to lift 30 pounds.
Fees depend on distance. In New York, rates start at $5.50 within a mile, and $2.50 for every additional mile, compared with $5 within a mile in Chicago, and $2.75 per extra mile. In San Francisco, rates are $6 and $3.
Uber is locked in a battle with the city of Toronto over regulations — where city staff has recommended creating different rules for taxis and UberX drivers, who use their personal vehicles to ferry passengers around for money, but to make UberX legal.
But when the proposal went to the city’s licensing and standards committee last week, councillors made various amendments, voting to make UberX illegal. City council can amend those proposals at its May 3 meeting.