
Uber Experiments With A Courier Service In New York City - coloneltcb
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/uberrush/?ncid=twittersocialshare
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DenverR
I was expecting the service to utilize uber drivers between picking up and
dropping of traditional customers the same way commercial jets carry
airfreight. None the less I think it will be interesting to see if business
will switch to uber from their traditional couriers.

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jomohrer
In NYC where parking is scarce, bikes and runners make more sense than cars
for the kind of service we're looking to offer.

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DTV
Is it a no questions asked delivery as long as it is within the size limit?
(Drugs?)

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dobbsbob
This is the first thing that popped into my mind when I read it was a 24/7
delivery service for only $15.

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CPLX
This may be a classic "bad idea" without some additional layers of security
for precisely the reason you might intuit, drugs and other contraband. I have
been a heavy user of courier services in the recent past (having been involved
with media/PR agencies) and I know from experience that courier services in
NYC do not and will not work with you if you haven't set up an account and/or
don't have a physical place of business for them to pick up from. Try walking
into a courier company's office with a package in hand and they won't take it
from you without an established account.

Granted, you could argue that makes for a business opportunity for Uber, but
in my experience as a long time NYC resident when you see safety measures and
precautions like that which are ubiquitous to business practices there's
usually a reason, namely that if there's any way at all to take advantage of a
situation in this city there will always be 11 people lined up to do it within
seconds.

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wmf
Uber itself requires an account, so it's not that different.

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jacalata
Can I send my kids to daycare through this?

How is it different to existing courier services - just has a better consumer
reach, or will it be cheaper/available where couriers are not today? Are they
disrupting any existing regulation? Is my stuff insured when they take it? Can
i track the courier on a GPS?

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rezaman
You can do this in Uber's current state. There are already people sending
their kids to school with Uber.

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untog
Interesting idea, but it feels very weird to have it in the Uber taxi app.
They need to get a better strategy if they want to continue diversifying.

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bertil
I’m assuming that it’s something to launch and test the offer. Once they’ve
cleared a few assumptions (Is it the same customer base as historical
coursier, _i.e._ office managers, or like Uber, are they addressing a new
group?) they will most likely launch a separate interface: Facebook has done
that quite well with regards to its messaging service. Following Amazon Dash,
it might not even be an app.

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jaredmck
This should be interesting - especially with all the delivery startups which
were created following uber's success.

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xgarland
I would not be surprised if they scoop up and acquire Postmates in the next
12-18 months.

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ulfw
Oh that's uber innovative.

