Uber Technologies Inc. will discontinue its same-day parcel and package delivery service called UberRush by the end of June, the company confirmed on Monday.
“We’re thankful for our partners and hope the next three months will allow them to make arrangements for their delivery needs,” a spokeswoman told Sourcing Journal. Uber made customers aware of the planned move on Friday.
When the UberRush service launched in 2015, the company said the aim was to help local businesses in Chicago, New York and San Francisco improve their delivery services. To facilitate the deliveries, Uber teamed with online product and platform partners like Shopify and delivery.com. UberRush connected Uber drivers and messengers with companies like Walmart Stores and Nordstrom for deliveries made as quickly as an hour or two.
The service never did expand beyond the initial three cities, and Uber instead focused on its UberEats restaurant delivery service, which quickly gained popularity. As such, UberEats will remain the focus.
“We’re already applying a lot of the lessons we learned together to our UberEats food delivery business in over 200 global markets across more than 100,000 restaurants,” the spokeswoman said.
Steep competition in the package delivery business may also have squeezed Uber out of the space. Dominant players like FedEx, UPS and DHL have been expanding their networks, particularly to serve the fast-growing e-commerce market. Amazon.com is also said to be planning to launch its own delivery service, Shipping With Amazon.
Last week, FedEx Corp acquired P2P Mailing Limited, a provider of worldwide e-commerce transportation solutions, to complement its capabilities for the global e-commerce marketplace. P2P provides customers with last-mile delivery options, leveraging its relationships with private, postal, retail and clearance providers in more than 200 countries.
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Uber has other endeavors on deck apart from UberRush. Last month, Uber launched Uber Freight Plus, a program that gives its app users access to discounts on services. Uber Freight Plus kicked off with initial deals that included the Uber Freight Fuel Card, which gives active carriers and their drivers savings on fuel, maintenance and tires from partners TA and Petro, Roady’s Truck Stops and Goodyear, and also offers discounts on licensing and permits.
Uber Freight also partnered with Navistar to offer app carriers discounts on the maintenance and purchase of a new or used truck. These offers will help trucking companies extend the lives of their trucks and scale their fleets more efficiently, Uber noted. The company has also teamed with Sprint and other cell phone providers for the Uber Freight Plus service to give carriers and their drivers discounts on eligible monthly phone plans and accessories. In the coming months, Uber said it will add partners, discounts and services to the freight program.