Uber food delivery service is launching in Tokyo, the 34th city globally in which UberEats bicycle couriers deliver food from restaurants to consumers.
The food-delivery service is set to launch Thursday in a city where there’s always been quality restaurants, but where delivery hasn’t always been available to consumers, said The Wall Street Journal.
UberEats bicycle couriers will be delivering a wide range of food, some that’s inexpensive comfort food and some that’s considered high-end.
Uber believes that adding food delivery to its services might be its best chance of generating significant revenue right away, considering the fact that the company is barred from running its ride-hailing business in Japan due to local laws that require Uber drivers to have taxi licenses.
Instead, they’ve served as a travel agent, responsible for putting customers in touch with established taxi services, the International Business Times noted.
According to the WSJ, taxis and public transportation are both extremely popular in Japanese cities, which has made it very difficult for Uber.
“Uber mostly targets the premium segment,” said Masami Takahashi, president of Uber Japan. According to Takahashi, people in Japan use Uber more so for business meetings “or for anniversaries.”
“Uber may appeal to internationally minded, tech-savvy businessmen, but not to the typical granny who won’t know how to use the service,” said Ichiro Kawanabe, chairman of taxi company Nihon Kotsu Co. and the Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association.
While Uber expects to have more success with UberEats than it's had with the driving service, the new endeavor could still pose a bit of a challenge, considering the fact that food-delivery companies like Instacart, Sprig and HelloFresh have been finding it hard to make money.
To ensure that it doesn't experience the same financial challenges, Uber is encouraging people in Tokyo to try UberEATS, saying that they’ll initially waive delivery fees and sell inexpensive lunches as an incentive to acquire early customers, the WSJ noted.
According to International Business Times, UberEats hopes to launch its services in more than 20 additional countries very soon.
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