Uber recruiting bike couriers for food delivery

Just as Uber is facing tighter regulations from Toronto city council, it is now looking for bike couriers.

Thestar.com
April 21, 2016
By Vanessa Lu

The ride-hailing company Uber is now moving beyond recruiting drivers and cars, looking now for bike couriers.

The company places notices on bikes in parking racks in the downtown entertainment district on Thursday, with notices about its UberEats meal delivery service. It urged people to sign up to as bike 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 deliveries.

Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said delivery methods vary, 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 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 like 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 21 century,” he said, noting Uber has demonstrated it has the ability to 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 depending more on parcel deliveries.

On the UberRush website, it says drivers in Canada must be at least 21 years 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 for extra mile. In San Francisco, rates are $6 within a mile, and $3 for every extra mile.

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. However, city council can amend those proposals at its May 3 meeting.

Uber has sent out email blasts this week to its passengers urging them to contact city councillors, warning that the ride-hailing app could be shut down here.