Uber Launches Peer to Peer Delivery Feature ‘Connect’ in Egypt

More often than we’d like, our wallet, an important piece of paper/package, or some valuable item becomes a wayward victim of our forgetful selves. You forget stuff at home, at work or at a friend’s. Then in the modern age, the sequence of thought that follows is: “can someone Uber it to me?”.

Then your mind starts to map out this hypothetical scenario. You start thinking of just how much that Uber driver would judge and hate you for making them lug your consequences around town. And you’re now dreading that fateful moment where you’ll have to look them in the eye, with the shame of the culprit you are, and just offer a useless “shokran”. Now you’re thinking of every time you’ve ever failed anyone ever. Your head’s hunched downwards, weighed down by the shame. You then sigh and opt for just bearing your own mistakes, and Uber-ing yourself back to wherever you forgot your stuff. 

No? Too over the top? Just our anxiety? Well whether you’re just as fidgety in that hypothetical, or the person that can bypass all the self-loathing and do it anyway with absolutely no shame, Uber has decided it’s time to render that scenario obsolete.

The ride-hailing giant just launched ‘Connect’, a delivery tech solution that allows users to send and request package deliveries through their app. Egypt is the first country in the MENA region to see the feature launch, after it rolled out in Australia, US, Mexico and Canada. Connect will enable users to send packages to and from friends and family, and another feature to request that drivers pickup deliveries from nearby stores.

The new on-demand service comes as part of the company’s moves to diversify its offerings, benefitting both users and drivers alike. Since the pandemic, ride-hailing has cratered. The global market for the industry was projected to grow by 55% from 2020 to 2021, but now that projection’s down by 2%. Uber also saw a steep decline in their revenue, but the real gold was struck with its delivery services.

“This is a proud moment for us as we add a new service to our app in Egypt, and is another first in the MENA region. Uber Connect has been designed to ease senders' daily errands, while empowering drivers with new earning opportunities. By launching Uber Connect, we are taking a step forward to accelerate our efforts to keep our community safe, which has been our goal since the start of COVID-19. Our role as a technology company won’t stop here; we will continue to evolve to effectively and sustainably define the new normal during this unprecedented time,” said Ahmed Khalil, General Manager of Uber in Egypt.

So if you’re looking for an easy way for your errands to check themselves off the to-do list, your laundry picked up and groceries bought, all from the comfort of your home, you need only toggle your thumbs towards the Uber app and follow these steps: 

1. Open the Uber app and in the pick up box, put in the location where the driver will load the package
2. In the destination box, add in the package drop off location
3. Choose “Connect” from the vehicle options to request
4. Once the driver arrives, load the package into their backpack and/or secured compartment
5. Share the trip with the recipient so they can track the package and meet the driver to retrieve it when it arrives.