UBER TECHNOLOGIES TO DELIVER FOOD BY DRONE IN NEW TEST PROGRAMME

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Uber Technologies Inc., the largest food delivery business in the world, plans to deliver food by drone in San Diego, USA as part of a wide-reaching commercial test program approved by the federal government, according to Bloomberg.

Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive officer, said people should expect meal delivery in five to 30 minutes, depending on whether it comes from a drone or a human.

“Push a button and get food on your doorstep,” he said.

The U.S. Transportation Department said it chose 10 states, local and tribal governments and a handful of companies, including Alphabet Inc., FedEx Corp., Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Uber, to work together on commercial drone testing.

Hamburgers via drone were among a range of topics that Khosrowshahi touched on during the interview at the company’s flying car conference, Uber Elevate.

While the CEO said he’d joined Uber last year as a skeptic of the flying car program, he eventually decided to support the futuristic endeavor.

“Uber can’t just be about cars,” he said. “It has to be about mobility.”

Uber itself isn’t building flying cars. Instead, it’s striking partnerships with companies, along with government agencies like NASA and the U.S. Army, with the hope that pilot programs will begin in 2020.

Khosrowshahi also emphasized Uber’s commitment to electric bicycles following its acquisition of Jump Bikes last month. The business competes with several venture-backed start-ups offering similar services for renting bikes and scooters around cities using an app.

“If the unit economics and the technology are there, our appetite to invest is infinite,” he said.

Recently, Uber Technologies was also acquired in one largest-ever deal of its kind in India, when GrabFood, South East Asia’s giant food delivery service completed the acquisition.

UberEats has, however, remained as one of the dominant players in the food delivery business and still expects to grow with new innovations coming up.