Food from the sky

Uber and Drones:

Uber has planned to launch a Drone based food delivery system in US where it can deliver food through the help of drones in crowded city area saving time and improving efficiency.

“Uber Technologies has announced a strategic partnership and investment in Israeli drone delivery company Flytrex, marking the multi-billion-dollar company’s first investment in drone delivery technology” says Haaretz an Israel based news company.

Before Uber, DoorDash another US firm in the business of Food delivery has already adopted the model of Drone based food delivery. Flytrex drones are engaging with DoorDash also to deliver food. Uber has announced that it plans to launch it later this year in selected cities in US.

“With Flytrex, we’re entering the next chapter-bringing the speed and sustainability of drone delivery to the Uber Eats platform, at scale, for the first time,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s president of autonomous mobility and delivery. Uber said that consumers will receive the delivery within minutes due to this service. It is reported that these drones can carry 6.6 pounds of chicken or other food items. The capacity can also be enhanced to over 8 pounds in due course. Uber Eats describes this as a part of multi model delivery framework i.e. an integrated system using bikes, cars, bicycles, sideway robots, courier and now drones as a single platform. The goal is to use the most efficient vehicle for each delivery task resulting in optimization of cost, speed and environmental impact.

Criticism:

However, the initiative taken by Uber has also received criticism from two different point of views and reason. One is the concern of major disruption to human delivery jobs, alongwith public apprehension of safety and privacy. Need for strict regulatory control is felt while using drones that will fly over the private residences and localities. Another is from pro-Palestinian group giving a boycott call to Uber Eats due to their investment in an Israel based military technology firm raising ethical concerns.

Scene shift to India:

With increase in working population, the culture of food delivery has taken roots not only in developed countries but also in developing nations like India. While in US, DoorDash and Uber Eats are the major players, in India Zomato and Swiggy controls the food delivery market. Food delivery market is assessed at USD 45.50 bn in year 2024 in India (source IMARC). An introduction of drone-based delivery system will definitely enhance the user experience in Indian metro cities where commutation is a big issue. Cities like Delhi, Bengaluru are having extraordinary rush on roads specially at peak hours and sometimes it takes even more than an hour to receive a food delivery.

While discussing the matter of drone delivery with the people who are in know of things say that such systems are worked upon in India as well however there are a few roadblocks such as

• Regulations for such systems are not clearly defined as they are prevalent in US.
• House plans and narrow spaces may also be a hurdle for implementing such automated system in India.
• Cost of labour is high in US and adoption of drones will result in cost savings unlike in India where cost of labour is still low, economic feasibility is to be established.
• Another issue is fear that these drones may be stolen or harmed.

Still the above apprehensions are not something that can not be overcome, if the cost factor is favourable. Further, even in US this system is new and implemented in only some regions. In India too drone delivery may be adopted in selected areas of a few metro cities to begin with. However, Government has to clear the regulatory hurdles, and clear the way for this venture. People may be ready to pay extra bucks as well if the delivery is fast and efficient.

For the present even if we don’t have Drones, lets enjoy some Indian spice in numbers

Particular	Result	Source
Online food delivery market 2024	USD 45.50 bn	IMARC
Projected market size 2033	USD 320.31 bn	IMARC
Largest regional market in 2024	South India 39.60%	IMARC
Dominant application in 2024	Mobile 85.40%	IMARC
Best food delivery app overall	Zomato	Grabon
Quickest food delivery app	Swiggy	Grabon
Most user friendly	Denzo	Grabon
Most ordered food	Chicken Biryani (10.09 cr orders)	EMR (Expert Market Research)
City with maximum breakfast orders	Bengaluru	EMR (Expert Market Research)
City with maximum late-night orders	Delhi	EMR (Expert Market Research)

Have a sumptuous dinner.

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