Uber has announced their intention to launch UberEats, their on-demand food delivery service, in Johannesburg before December.
In June, Uber reported that the company was bringing UberEverything to South Africa (UberEverything is the name of the service that comprises both UberEats and courier service, UberRush) and it seems they’re starting with Johannesburg first.
According to Uber General Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits, “Johannesburg will be the first city where we launch in South Africa. We do have plans to launch in Cape Town. Once we open in Johannesburg, in a later wave, we will expand the product offering to Pretoria. Thereafter, we will explore launches in our other [local] cities”
UberEats launched in 2014 and it’s currently available in 29 cities – 21 in the US, 3 in Canada (Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton), 2 in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), and 1 in Singapore, UK (London) and France (Paris) each. It works through partnerships with local restaurants and this allows users get their meals delivered from restaurants in their areas within 10 minutes.
Everything will live in a stand alone app. It will let you order food the same way you order wheels – quickly and efficiently, with the added plus that you can track its progress from the moment you tap a button until it arrives at your door.
“Choose a signature dish from the Instant Delivery menu and you’ll be eating in as little as 10 minutes. Have something specific in mind? By tapping into the Uber network, you can get anything from our roster of local restaurants, fast. The average order takes 35 minutes from start to finish.”
Emphasis on “restaurants in their areas” because users won’t be allowed to order from restaurants in other parts of town.
Alon Lits says, “It is geo-located, so if you are in Sandton and your favourite restaurant is in Braamfontein, you may not be able to select it.”
As usual, Uber is hiring in preparation for the launch. The list of available roles in South Africa on Uber’s site shows openings for General Manager, Marketing Manager, Operations Manager (Courier), Operations Manager (Restaurants), and Restaurants Partnerships Manager for UberEATS in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
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