Uber Eats will now serve the Saanich Peninsula

This is the area covered by Uber Eats in the Saanich Peninsula (Source: Uber Eats)

Uber Eats is bringing its services up the Saanich Peninsula. It will offer food delivery, online ordering, and pick-up just north of Sidney and then stretching into Saanich. It will exclude an area west of John Dean Provincial Park. Uber's food delivery arm has been available in Victoria since 2018. If you want to use the service, you'll need to download the Uber Eats app.

Source: Victoria News

Uber sells self-driving unit to Aurora

Source: Uber

Uber selling off its self-driving division isn't a surprise. But now, we learn that it is selling its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) to Aurora Innovation, an autonomous vehicle startup and once its rival. Uber will invest US$400 million in Aurora as part of the deal, and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join the startup's board of directors.

As Engadget puts it, Uber is paying Aurora to take ATG off its hands. In the short term, Aurora will use ATG's tech for its self-driving truck. Later on, there will be robot taxis as Uber is licensing the tech from Aurora. 

This sale won't be the last sale Uber will make as it tries to carve a path to profitability. This month, Uber is said to be in advanced talks with Joby Aviation to sell its flying taxi division. This sale could be confirmed in the next few weeks.

Uber launches 'rider mask verification' in Canada

Source: Vera Davidova/Unsplash

Uber has started rolling out its "rider mask verification" across Canada to help implement its "No Mask, No Ride" policy it implemented back in May. If a driver reports that a rider isn't wearing a mask, the rider will be required to take a selfie with their mask or face cover before they can take their next Uber trip. Uber has said it removed access of over 1,250 riders in Canada and the US for failing to abide by the policy.

For their part, Uber drivers and delivery people are also required to verify that they're wearing a mask before they start to drive passengers or deliver food. They need to take a selfie that shows their mouth and nose are covered.

Source: Uber

Uber launches grocery delivery in Canada, Latin America

If yoy don't feel leaving your house for groceries, Uber now offers grocery delivery in select cities. (Photo by Anna Shvets/Pexels)

A day after Uber announced that it acquired Postmates for $2.65 billion, it introduced grocery delivery in 19 Canadian and Latin American cities, including those in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. The project is also a result of the recently announced purchase of Cornershop in late 2019, which is still pending regulatory approval. Cornershop introduced grocery delivery to Latin America before bringing it to Toronto. The service will expand to the US later this month, specifically in Dallas and Miami, and then to more cities around the world in "the coming months."

It is the right time to launch a service like this, with COVID-19 affecting people's mobility and desire to leave the house with the pandemic for something as essential as grocery shopping. Uber says demand for grocery delivery has increased 197% since March.

Source: TechCrunch