Business for Uber’s food delivery app has grown in New York since the coronavirus shutdown began – and almost all of the growth comes from hungry customers in the outer boroughs and low-income neighborhoods, a learned The Post.
Food orders for the Uber Eats app are globally “on the rise” in the Big Apple, according to a source familiar with the situation, despite the fact that business has dropped in upmarket Manhattan neighborhoods like the West Village and the Upper East Side.
While residents of the wealthiest enclaves left the city for the Hamptons or the northern part of the state, residents of the outer districts of Queens and Brooklyn, as well as the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, were forced to hide at home, where trips to the grocery store have become increasingly dangerous.
In Queens outside JFK Airport, orders increased 88% between February 17 and April 6, according to data seen by The Post. Orders rose 61% in southeast Queens, near the Broad Channel and Jamaica Bay. In south Brooklyn, near Coney Island, orders rose 28% and in the South Bronx they jumped 35%, according to the data.
Even within the same borough, the differences can be marked. While orders at Midtown fell 26%, orders from Harlem increased 20%.
“Uber Eats is proud that we are able to help New Yorkers, especially those in the outer boroughs, get affordable food for their families during this difficult time,” said a spokesperson for ‘Uber to The Post in a statement.
As The Post reported, a gap also appeared between the Big Apple supermarkets in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, with those in upscale and low-income areas losing business, even those in middle-income areas thrive.
The Post reported last week that New York City Council plans to cap food delivery charges at 10% of an order to prevent services like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats from enjoying restaurants in the Big Apple during the state of emergency.
A source directly aware of the bills told The Post that they appear to have broad support in city council and that the council’s small business committee expects them to be passed as early as May or June. The first virtual hearing was scheduled for Wednesday April 29.
Earlier this month, Uber Eats also added phone ordering capabilities to its service to make it easier to order food for opponents of the app, including the elderly.
Interested customers can call 1-833-USE-UBER to tell an Uber employee what type of food they like, and then receive a list of restaurants in their area that meet their criteria. Once they decide what they would like to eat, they give their payment information over the phone to complete the transaction.
*By Nicolas Vega via New York Post*
