Uber Direct runs its on-demand rider network on our behalf — at commercials we've negotiated at platform scale. Your sites get fleet pricing without being fleet-sized, and auto-dispatch decides per order whether your driver or an Uber rider delivers it.
"Running your own drivers only works until Friday at 8pm. Uber Direct catches the spike — and it's one click from the pass."
Most restaurants we work with run their own delivery fleet. It's cheaper per order when volume is predictable and the team shows up. The trouble is that restaurants don't run on predictable volume. Fridays surge. Two drivers call in sick on a cold Tuesday. The aggregators keep firing tickets either way.
Uber Direct is the second pillar of Deliver Plus: an on-demand courier network that sits behind the same auto-dispatch engine your own drivers use. If your team's busy, the order fires to an Uber rider automatically. If your team's quiet, it stays with them. You don't choose the model once — you run both at once, and the POS picks between them order by order.
We've done the commercials with Uber at platform scale. Individual restaurants get pricing built for the sector — not the standalone rate card a single site would be quoted when it goes direct.
Andromeda decides: own driver or Uber rider, whichever is faster on the postcode right now. Queue depth, kitchen prep time, ideal pickup time and live driver capacity all feed the decision.
Whether the rider is one of yours or an Uber rider, the order, the GPS trail and the proof of delivery sit inside the Portal and Mission Control — same view, same reports, same dispute trail.
Uber Direct inside Andromeda runs in one of two modes — flip between them per site, or mix them if you want different rules at different times of day.
Manual request. The owner or duty manager taps "Get courier" on an order from the pass or Mission Control. Andromeda fires the job to Uber Direct at the pre-negotiated rate, and the rider rolls in at ready-time. Best for operators who want eyes on every courier booking and use Uber Direct only on overflow or specific orders.
Fully automated. Every qualifying order is dispatched by Andromeda in real time — own driver or Uber rider — with no-one touching a button. The engine looks at four things at once: is there an own driver coming back to base soon; is the kitchen running to time or behind; is the drop-off postcode inside the own-delivery zone; and what's Uber's ETA right now. It then fires the job to whichever option gets the food to the door fastest, inside your cost rules.
You set the rules. "Own drivers first, Uber only when we're stacked" is common. "Uber always outside postcode X" is common. "Manual until 7pm, automated from 7pm" works too. The plumbing is ours; the policy is yours.
| Uber Direct on your own | Uber Direct on Andromeda | |
|---|---|---|
| Account set-up | Direct application, credit checks, volume thresholds — often declined for single sites | Live same day on our platform agreement |
| Pricing | Single-site rate card | Pre-negotiated platform pricing |
| Dispatch | Manual — open another app | Manual or fully automated, from the POS |
| Choice of driver | Always Uber | Own driver or Uber, per order |
| Operator visibility | Separate Uber dashboard | Driver GPS and proof of delivery in your Portal |
| Zones | Fixed by Uber | Your zones + Uber overflow |
| Reporting | Separate dashboard | Inside Portal sales reports |
| Refunds / disputes | Uber support | Handled in Mission Control |
| Integration effort | API build | A tick-box in onboarding |
"Before Andromeda and Uber Direct, Friday at 8pm meant one of us driving. Now auto-dispatch just takes the overflow. I'm actually in the kitchen on a Friday again."
— independent operator, LondonExisting Andromeda customers can enable Uber Direct from their Portal today. New customers see it as a standard option in the demo. There's nothing to install — Uber Direct lives inside Andromeda's delivery engine, not as a separate app — and nothing to configure beyond your coverage zones and your own-driver rules.
Typical turn-on time from flicking the switch to your first Uber Direct delivery: same day. Most operators test with a handful of sample orders first, watch the dispatch screen and rider flow, then let the mode of their choice — manual or fully automated — take the peak that evening.
And the onboarding side of it. A single store or small chain trying to open a direct Uber Direct account typically hits credit checks, minimum-volume commitments and a long onboarding back-and-forth — and is often declined outright. Because Andromeda has the platform agreement with Uber, sites on our estate are live same day, at pre-negotiated fleet pricing, regardless of size. No separate contract. No credit check. No minimum.
No. Most Andromeda restaurants run their own drivers and use Uber Direct as overflow on peaks and for zones they don't cover. Auto-dispatch decides per order — you set the rules once, and the POS applies them.
Pre-negotiated platform rates that reflect the combined volume of Andromeda's restaurants — not the rate card a single independent would be quoted. The exact number varies by postcode, time of day and distance. We share it during the demo.
Generally no — the order arrives in your packaging, from a rider holding your bag, with confirmation in your branded SMS or email. The Uber Direct relationship lives behind the scenes, between Andromeda and Uber.
The whole of mainland UK where Uber operates — which is most urban and suburban areas. We check coverage by site during onboarding, and you can configure exclusion zones where you'd rather not offer courier delivery at all.
You do, through Andromeda. We see the rider status, the GPS, the delivery attempts — and surface them in the Portal and Mission Control. Uber's own support is the fallback for rider issues, but the customer-facing experience stays with you.
Only if you want it to. Most operators keep their own drivers because it's cheaper per order when volume is predictable, and use Uber Direct to catch the peaks, the long-distance orders and the no-show-driver nights. The two run side by side.
Both modes are supported. In manual mode, the owner or duty manager taps "Get courier" on each order they want to send via Uber — full control, zero automation. In fully automated mode, every qualifying order is routed by Andromeda in real time — own driver or Uber rider — with no-one touching a button. You can flip modes per site, or mix them by time of day (manual during quiet hours, automated during peak).
In theory, yes. In practice, most single-site and small-chain operators find it hard. Uber Direct's direct onboarding runs credit checks and expects volume commitments that independents often don't clear — and the rate card you'd be quoted standalone is nowhere near the platform pricing we've negotiated. Through Andromeda, there's no separate contract with Uber, no credit check and no minimum volume. You turn it on in the Portal and you're live the same day, at pre-negotiated fleet pricing.
The full delivery operation — own drivers, auto-dispatch, zones, SMS updates and driver tracking.
See the delivery platform →The broader concept: own fleet plus partner fleet, one auto-dispatch brain, branded for your restaurant.
See Deliver Plus →Our other named partner — payments, terminals and billing on a single Stripe account.
See the payments partnership →Twenty-minute demo. We'll place a test order, watch auto-dispatch pick own driver or Uber rider, and follow the dispatch screen end to end.
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