Uber’s service that lets you send packages to nearby friends and family rolls out to more cities

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Did you know that Uber has a point-to-point package delivery service called Uber Connect? If not, you’re not alone as when the service came out in April, it was limited in how many cities it worked in. Now Uber is extending that reach to 2,400 cities across the U.S., so you can send little gifts to your geographically-close family and friends while supporting Uber’s self-employed contractors in the process.

Uber rolling this out more widely just as COVID-19 is surging again is no surprise. With the population told to stay home, how do you do simple holiday spreading of joy, like dropping cookies off at Grandma’s house? Well, now all you need to do is call for an Uber, from the new “Package” button that will show on the main screen in the Uber app, assuming you’re in an Uber Connect area.

If you want to send holiday cheer to your friends, with no-contact delivery goodness, you tap Package to call an Uber to your location, as usual. What’s different is that you also need to put in the address of the recipient, and their contact details in case of any delivery issues. When the driver arrives, they’ll pop the trunk so you can put your packages inside, making it a contactless, safe experience. On the other end, if your recipient has the Uber app they’ll get a notification that the package is being delivered.

Major cities such as Atlanta, Columbus, Detroit, Honolulu, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Richmond, and Tucson are all in the new availability areas.

What do you think? Could you see yourself using Uber Connect? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.