Food delivery wars: Duke professor says there’s a better way

by Robert Swinney, Duke University — January 13, 2023 . DURHAM – The rise of food-delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats provided a lifeline for restaurants during the pandemic. The relationship, though, seems to have soured of late, as people slowly resume their eating-out habits. One reason is an inherent flaw in the revenue-sharing contracts between the …

Grubhub must pay DC $3.5 million over claims it charged customers hidden fees

Grubhub has been ordered to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit from the District of Columbia that claims the company misled customers by tacking on hidden fees to their orders. According to a press release, Grubhub must pay $800,000 to DC as a civil penalty, while the remaining $2.7 million “will be paid back to affected customers.” …

Delivery Apps Are Even More of a Rip-Off Than You Knew

You’re on your couch, it’s been a long day, and there’s no way you’re cooking anything, not even preheating the oven for a frozen pizza. Understood. We all know that food delivery is the miracle solution that upcharges for convenience, but if you live in a metropolitan area, you’re probably getting gouged even harder than …

DoorDash and Noah Schnapp Team Up To Brew A DashPass Exclusive for College Students

Today, DoorDash announced that DashPass and Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp are partnering to help college students stay focused as they head back to campus. DoorDash knows that the first week back to college can be especially draining. To help them ease into the new school year, DashPass is giving students free coffee, up to …

How policies ‘protecting’ small restaurants from delivery apps are backfiring

Whether you’re a policy professional, restaurant owner, delivery driver or just someone who loves takeout, you may want to turn your attention to a few legal battles across the country. During the pandemic, at least 78 cities, counties and states in the U.S. have introduced temporary price controls restricting delivery companies from charging high commission fees to …

San Francisco weakens 15% delivery fee cap

Dive Brief: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Tuesday exempting companies from the city’s 15% delivery fee cap if said companies offer restaurants and other clients a “core delivery service” that costs 15% or less than the price of an online order. The ordinance, according to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ website, has …

Seattle approves permanent 15% fee cap on food delivery companies, with key compromise

The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to permanently implement a 15% cap on the fees that services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and others charge restaurants for food delivery. The cap has been in place since April 2020, when it was implemented as part of an emergency order at the onset of the pandemic. It was meant to …

SF Board of Supervisors Considers Compromise With Delivery Giants on First-In-Nation Permanent Fee Cap

Next week the San Francisco Board of Supervisors could approve a new law allowing restaurants to pay higher delivery fees to apps like DoorDash and Grubhub in exchange for better visibility and more promotion. The legislation would essentially codify a loophole to the city’s first-of-its-kind permanent 15 percent cap on the fees restaurants pay to third-party delivery …

Just Eat US subsidiary Grubhub signs deal with Amazon

Online giant Amazon will take a stake in Just Eat Takeaway’s US subsidiary Grubhub, in a deal which will also give free food deliveries for Amazon’s US customers. Starting today, Amazon Prime subscribers in the States will also get a free Grubhub+ membership for a year. It means they will not have to pay for …

DoorDash launches DashPass for Students

Dive Brief: DoorDash launched DashPass for Students, a membership plan for college students for $4.99 a month, which is half of the cost of a standard DashPass membership, the company announced on Monday. Annual memberships are also available for $48.  DashPass for Students is available to all undergraduate and graduate students at accredited colleges and universities …