Uber’s on-demand food delivery service UberEATS is launching in Chennai, making it the fifth city the service has entered in the five months since inception.
UberEATS will has partnered with over 200 restaurants across Nungambakkam, T. Nagar, Adyar, Besant Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Mylapore, Alwarpet and Royapettah in Chennai. Some of the restauarants include popular ones such as A2B vegetarian restaurant, Aasife Biryani, Cream Stone, Chai Kings and Fruit shop on Greams road.
The service will go live at 12pm on October 12.
Commenting on the launch Bhavik Rathod, head of UberEATS India said, “We’re excited to launch UberEATS in Chennai within five months of commencing UberEATS operations in India. Synonymous to quick and reliable food delivery, we’re committed to providing a great experience to our consumers by giving them the power to choose from a range of cuisines at the push of a button. Our aim is to help everyone discover great food through the perfect pairing of amazing restaurant partners, our technology, and the Uber delivery network.”
Along with a launch in Chennai, UberEATS has also launched FestiveEATS, which will give consumers exclusive offers on UberEATS app from October 14. All of this will be available at an introductory launch delivery fee of Rupees one, the company said in a statement.
UberEATS first started in 2014 as a small delivery pilot in Los Angeles and launched as a separate application in Toronto in December 2015. It is now a stand-alone app available in 29 countries and in 130 cities around the globe.
It launched in India in May 2017 in Mumbai and has since expanded to Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, with Chennai being the latest.
Uber accepts payments through Paytm and has recently added a cash option in Mumbai. UberEATS is also reportedly integrating Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as the collection method for delivery partners to deposit the cash they collect.
In India, UberEATS competes with other FoodTech startups Swiggy and Zomato, which have also been expanding aggressively.