Uber is asking drivers to make delivery runs between rides in the US

In a move that should help drivers find new ways to earn, Uber has asked them to make food deliveries for Uber Eats.

FILE - In this March 15, 2017, file photo, a sign marks a pick up point for the Uber car service at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Ride-hailing giant Uber has filed confidential preliminary paperwork for selling stock to the public. That's according to a report late Friday, Dec. 7, 2018 in the Wall Street Journal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) (AP)

In a move that should help drivers find new ways to earn, Uber has asked them to make food deliveries for Uber Eats.

In a blog published on its site, Uber Eats' chief Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty announced that drivers in more than a dozen cities in the US have been given an option to toggle in-app between making special deliveries and providing pickup and drop-offs. Even if they have not driven for Uber Eats in the past, they can still do it.

This looks like one way for these drivers to make more money during these times, but essentially this is Uber making sure its Uber Eats stays up and running, along with its normal services.

"While it's too early to say what impact the coronavirus crisis will have on food delivery overall, we're seeing signals that people are relying on delivery services more," the blog states.

"The impact has varied widely city-by-city and country-by-country, but cities like Seattle and San Francisco have seen an uptick in food delivery requests on Uber Eats recently. In the US and Canada, we've also seen a significant increase in the number of restaurants looking to offer delivery as dine-in has been restricted—including a 10x increase in self-sign-ups," says the blog.

Both the cities listed on the blog, Seattle and San Francisco, are hotspots for the covid-19 disease. Uber noted that both the cities have seen a spike in the use of delivery services. According to a report in the Information, Uber Eats sales spiked 10% last week from the week prior.

Opportunities for drivers to earn more than they normally do at a time when their usual wages might be low is vital and will be all the more important in the coming months. However, Uber asking drivers to make deliveries is "not the altruistic gesture" Uber is making it out to be.

Increased human-to-human contact - be it is picking up food from a restaurant worker, shopping for food at a grocery store, or delivering an order, and touching door handles - puts an individual at greater risk of exposure.