New Westminster may have been left out of Uber Eats’ Metro Vancouver launch late last year, but now, the service is expanding to the city on Tuesday (June 12).

In fact, Uber Eats is also adding Burnaby and Richmond to its delivery zones and is bringing on multiple new partner restaurants.

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Included in the list of partner restaurants is Chatime, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea franchise. For Gerald Cruz, general manager of Chatime, the partnership was the right fit.

“Different food delivery services, apps have approached us before, but they just didn’t seem quite right. Something was missing,” Cruz said. However, Cruz said he preferred the Uber Eats app and also felt the drivers were “more professional, more friendly, more down to earth.”

“Using (the app) is more easy for us,” Cruz said. “We’ve had different app-delivery service catered towards a certain demographic before, a very targeted niche, and I can say that this Uber Eats app is easier for the consumer and for the restaurant operator.”

Cruz said he and his friends have used Uber and Uber Eats in other cities before.

“I was really surprised with how easy and seamless it was,” Cruz said about his trial of Vancouver’s Uber Eats.

For deliveries from Chatime, Cruz said customers can expect their bubble tea to arrive in 15 minutes or less.

“Imagine you’re walking down the street and all of a sudden, ‘Oh, I feel like having a Chatime,’” Cruz said. “So you open your Uber Eats app and get some Chatime right in the park

“It’s something we would have done if we had the resources to do so I think it comes at the right time.”

Uber Eats is a partner service to Uber, the ride-sharing service still unavailable in B.C. Drivers sign up to deliver via vehicle and bicycle, and users can track delivery via their mobile devices, as well as leave driver and partner restaurant feedback.

To get started, download the Uber Eats app on your phone.

With files from Lindsay William-Ross

