Uber to Deliver Food by Drone in 2021
Uber looking to employ a fleet of food-delivery drones within three years.
Oct 24, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO – According to The Wall Street Journal, Uber is searching for a new executive to help launch a drone food delivery program. Uber plans to set up the program, called UberExpress, under its UberEats umbrella next year and will make full commercial service available in 2021.
The Wall Street Journal initially found out about the initiative through a job posting on Uber’s website. It has “since been taken down from Uber's site after a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it ‘does not fully reflect our program, which is still in very early days,’” reports Business Insider.
“It’s my personal belief that a key to solving urban mobility is flying burgers, in any city,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at the company’s Uber Elevate Summit event in May. According to USA Today, Khosrowshahi also noted that the company was one of the few chosen to participate in the U.S. Transportation Department’s commercial drone-operations pilot program in San Diego.
The ride-sharing company will have to keep up and compete with Amazon, which already has been vocal about ambitions to deliver products with drones. 7-Eleven already has delivered items to 77 customers in Reno, Nevada, through a partnership with drone maker Flirtey.
