Online delivery services have a checkered history at best . But Uber , the app-oriented car service , is giving it another go . The company , which lets app users hook up with nearby drivers for hire , has announced Uber Rush , which promises to let `` your packages travel like a VIP . '' Being tested only in Manhattan , it 's a lot like a typical courier service . First , users summon up a vehicular courier ( the company 's reportedly adding bike and foot messengers to its fleet ) . Next , the app quotes them a price . And then the courier hauls an item or items from Point A to Point B . The service does n't allow users to order items , such as lunch , and have them delivered . It 's just for transporting items already in their possession . Rush is now an option on the existing Uber app in areas where it is available . During the initial dotcom boom of the late '90s and early 2000s , several online delivery services tried , and failed , to catch on . Kozmo.com is a classic story from the dotcom bubble burst . The website , which promised to deliver items such as DVDs , food and Starbucks coffee within one hour , raised $ 250 million in capital , launched in 1998 and was out of business by 2001 . Webvan , an online grocery-delivery service , went bottom-up the same year , in what some have called the biggest dotcom flop in history . But the emergence of mobile technology has some Web players reconsidering the quick-delivery model . Ebay Now promises delivery of good from local stores in less than two hours for a $ 5 fee . The Postmates app similarly offers food and other goods delivered for prices starting at $ 5 . Prices for Uber Rush appear to be higher ( $ 20- $ 25 ) , more in line with what New York City couriers typically charge . Uber 's model is to take 20 % of whatever price their drivers charge . Uber uses drivers who have applied to participate and who have passed background checks and other vetting to ensure they are properly licensed and insured . They must be at least 23 . The company says it will expand Rush to other areas of New York if it succeeds in its initial test phase .
Uber rolled out a new delivery service , Rush . Rush is only available in Manhattan right now . It's not yet clear if it will expand to other parts of the city or just New York City itself.