Uber Eats to Use Autonomous Electric Vehicles for Deliveries
The company's partnership with driverless vehicle maker Nuro kicks off this fall with deliveries in Texas and California.
Uber Eats orders will soon be arriving in style.
Ever ordered Uber Eats and thought, "If only I didn't have to tip my driver." If you live in the right city, you may soon find out what that's like.
Uber is teaming up with Nuro to use the latter company's autonomous, electric vehicles for food deliveries in a multiyear partnership, the companies announced Thursday. Deliveries begin this fall in Mountain View, California, and Houston, Texas, and the plan is for the service to expand to the greater Bay Area, according to a release.
Nuro's autonomous delivery vehicles are built specifically to carry food and other goods, the release says. They don't contain drivers or passengers, and they run on public roads. Nuro has previously announced partnerships with companies including FedEx and Domino's.
Participating merchants as well as service areas in Mountain View and Houston haven't been shared yet. Here's what to know about ordering: According to Uber, if you're placing an order where the service is available, you'll see the prompt in the app that says, "Autonomous vehicles may deliver your order." You can still opt for a person to transport your goods.
If you choose the driverless route, you'll be notified if you've been matched with an autonomous vehicle when your order is being picked up from the merchant, Uber says. When the vehicle shows up with an order, you'll use your phone to unlock it. If you've added a tip, it'll be refunded.