Starting Wednesday, Uber Rush will unleash a bike and car courier system designed to deliver anything from take-out food to clothing for small businesses, according to Business Insider.
Uber Rush was first introduced in 2014 as a courier bike messenger system, but was used almost exclusively for personal deliveries. Starting Wednesday, however, Rush will start accommodating businesses in need of local, fast and same-day deliveries.
“If every local business delivered, we’d all save time and energy,” Uber said in its press release.”But most simply can’t. Day-to-day operations are already complicated and delivery can cause all sorts of logistical headaches. There has never been a simple local delivery solution. Until now.”
Rush’s new business model will be most useful to small companies as drivers will be able to pick-up and deliver multiple packages in a single trip. According to Business Insider, when a restaurant is understaffed with delivery drivers, an Uber messenger car can be summoned to transport all the tasty food. Currently, most other courier companies only handle a small amount of packages at a time, making Rush competitive against its new rivals.
Similar to Uber’s regular taxi service, Rush will also have a feature where the messenger can be tracked on a map. Text messages will be sent when the Rush messenger is arriving, and a bill for the service will be emailed after delivery.
Rush will also be highly affordable for companies, costing them only $5 to $7 per delivery, according to Business Insider. Offices will have the option to charge the fee to buyers ordering the food or other goods, or sellers can just pick up the tab themselves.
Personal users — not businesses — will still be able to use Uber Rush as a courier system, and will function just as it has since its 2014 release. (RELATED: Poll Says Legalizing Marijuana Much More Popular Than Uber Or Airbnb)
The Wednesday business launch will be available to folks living in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. San Francisco will be the only city offering both car and bike Rush messengers, New York will offer bike and foot messengers while Chicago will have just bikers.
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