Uber delivers food in Bangkok

Uber delivers food in Bangkok

Allen Penn (far left), regional general manager for Asia-Pacific of UberEats, with local restaurant owners. Bangkok is one of 57 cities where the service is available.
Allen Penn (far left), regional general manager for Asia-Pacific of UberEats, with local restaurant owners. Bangkok is one of 57 cities where the service is available.

If you want to get the food you want from the restaurants you love, all from the comfort of your own home, Uber is now offering its first stand-alone food delivery app that lets you order grub the same way you order wheels.

UberEats currently allows people to order food from 100 restaurants covering 24 cuisines.

Users can track their orders from the moment they are placed until the second they arrive at their doors.

"This app offers a window into what the future competition in the food delivery industry could look like," said Allen Penn, regional general manager for Asia-Pacific of UberEats, a business unit of US-based Uber Technologies Inc.

There are several key food delivery players in Thailand such as Berlin-based Foodpanda, Tokyo-based Line Man and Singapore-based GrabEat.

With UberEats, customers can download the food delivery app and get a meal delivered in 30-45 minutes.

The limited initial service areas includes Sathon, Silom, Pathumwan, Phloenchit, Nana, Asok, Phrom Phong, Thong Lor, Ekamai and Chinatown.

The service will be available daily from 10am to 10pm with no minimum price per order.

Uber plans to expand the variety of cuisine and service coverage area both around Bangkok and its suburbs, said Mr Penn.

"Bangkok has fantastic cuisine and the city has a large population with a strong base of smartphone users," he said. "Most importantly, Thai people love to eat."

Bangkok is one of 57 cities in 20 countries where UberEats is available. It is the fifth city in Asia where Uber has launched its food delivery service, after Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei.

Mr Penn said Uber has expanded into on-demand food delivery to leverage its core technological capabilities and extend its transport service into other categories.

The development is also aimed at creating a new revenue stream for Uber, he said.

In other countries where UberEats operates, Uber's restaurant partners have increased revenue by up to 50%, Mr Penn said, adding they can both add new customers and encourage existing ones to order food more often.

UberEats is initially offering its delivery service free of charge and will earn commissions from its restaurant partners.

UberEats has several hundred courier partners and has urged motorbike drivers to partner with it to earn more money.

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