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THE CLICHÉD PITCH of ‘Uber for….’ might soon be redundant as the company makes moves to become Uber for… everything itself. Because soon, you might be able to have your furniture delivered—and have it built too. Kicking off in select cities across the US, Uber is piloting a new service that allows its users to hire drivers to complete everyday tasks around the house and workplace.
Called ‘Uber Tasks’ the Uber-meets-Airtasker service is looking to allow users to advertise tasks and chores specifically to registered Uber drivers who chose to opt-in. This might include furniture assembly, cleaning, landscaping, decorating and packing/unpacking. Maybe you need a picture hung on the wall? A handyman to put up some shelves? Or a set of hands willing to weed your garden? In the future, you can just Uber it.
The move is a clever one, because after completely wiping the food delivery floor with Uber Eats, the gig worker industry has been holding its breath to see what Uber does next in our market. According to The Australian Financial Review, it’s estimated that Uber’s revenue is around $2.6 billion and has a gross profit of $1.2 billion. The task market could equally be a meaty one, if it takes on the giants: Airtasker reported a 2022-2033 revenue of $44 million dollars, a 40.4 per cent increase year on year.
In the past two years, Uber has been testing a handful of new services, including ‘Errands by the Hour’ which, in some regions, is where you can book a driver by the hour when you need more than a simple A to B trip completed. It’s looking like Uber Task is a more refined version of this, plus more. While it’s very early days, the company has said this is one of the many programs it has been researching, in the hope to bring new channels of revenue to its drivers and couriers.
In the US, meanwhile, Uber has introduced new security measures of late to help quell concerns around safety. This includes the Record My Ride feature in which drivers can record video of their trips using their smartphone, without the need for a separate dashcam and audio recording, where users can record their in-car conversations using the Uber app. How will it tackle safety when allowing drivers into our homes? That will be yet another interesting development. Watch this space—and, in preparation, load up your Ikea shopping cart.
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