It’s Uber Eats’ mission to deliver food experiences that fuel everyday life. But today the world feels anything but business as usual. As we face the uncertainty of this health crisis together with our restaurant partners, we are thinking about how best to support independent restaurants in the U.S. & Canada that have been most significantly affected.

Supporting local business with no Delivery Fee

Uber Eats US Eat LocalWe know the success of every restaurant depends on customer demand. That’s why we’re working urgently to drive orders towards independent restaurants on Eats, to help make up for the significant slowdown of in-restaurant dining. 

As more customers are choosing to stay indoors, we’ve waived the Delivery Fee for the more than 100,000 independent restaurants across US & Canada on Uber Eats. We will also launch daily dedicated, targeted marketing campaigns—both in-app and via email—to promote delivery from local restaurants, especially those that are new to the app.

Helping restaurants focus on food, not finances

While foot traffic may have temporarily declined, fixed costs for our restaurant partners remain constant, putting their finances front-and-center. 

To help to create a more reliable and immediate source of cash flow, even in uncertain times, we’re rolling out a new payment option for restaurants. This new feature will allow restaurants of all sizes to opt into daily payments on all Uber Eats orders, rather than the typical weekly billing cycle.

Increasing safety for delivery

We continue to focus on protecting the health and safety of everyone on Uber Eats—ensuring we are a reliable platform when people need it most. As customers and delivery people look to limit contact to protect themselves and their loved ones, we’ve started educating users about how to request deliveries be left on their doorsteps, and have shared CDC guidance to restaurants to ensure all orders are sealed in tamper-evident packaging.

In addition, we continue to support Uber delivery people and drivers both financially in the event of a COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure, and while they’re on the road by delivering sanitization products to keep themselves and their vehicles clean.

Feeding first responders

We’re also committing 300,000 free meals on Uber Eats to first responders and healthcare workers in US and Canada, in coordination with local and state and provincial governments. We know that the work of medical and crisis response teams can be tireless, and the hours long; we hope we can help in a small way. Interested officials and organizations can reach us at [email protected]. 

The coming weeks will be challenging for all of us. We are committed to working with our restaurant partners, government agencies, first responders, and communities at large to keep people safe and fed.