Uber to soon start delivering fast food through drones

Famous ride-hailing firm Uber has decided to use drones in a new way by using them to deliver fast food to people.

According to a new report by Bloomberg, Uber now plans to start delivering fast food by drone in San Diego by this summer through its food delivering service Uber Eats. The deliveries, however, will not be made to customers’ houses, but instead, will be sent to a ‘designated safe place’.

After reaching the place, Uber couriers will unload the package manually and take it further to customers’ doorstep. These safe places can include roofs of parked Uber cars, which will be identified by the drones through QR codes.

The costs for drone delivery will be almost the same as the usual fees that can go up to around $8.50 in the city, wrote The Verge. The company claimed that its drones can make a delivery over a 1.5 mile distance in only seven minutes – quicker than 21 minutes it takes a car or cyclist, in comparison.

The ride-hailing firm has been working with fast food chain McDonald’s as its first partner, designing special delivery packages that keeps the burgers and fries hot and intact during the drone flights. Uber plans to expand the program to include more options too, as per Mashable.

Uber’s head of aerial projects, Eric Allison, told Bloomberg, “Our customers want selection, quality, and efficiency – all areas that improve with drone delivery.”

Uber claimed that it is working on a new drone design as well that is expected to be unveiled later this year. Uber will begin its drone delivery service in San Diego after it gets approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).