Uber Could Soon Deliver Big Macs By Drone, Starting In San Diego

Uber is testing drones in San Diego that could soon bring your favorite restaurant food as part of its Uber Elevate program, the company said on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently granted Uber an authorization to use drone technology to carry out food deliveries in the city of San Diego. "We've been working closely with the FAA to ensure we're meeting requirements and optimizing safety," Uber Elevate Head of Operations Luke Fischer said.

When a customer orders food, the drone will take the meal to a licensed Uber driver, who will then take the meal to the recipient. The service is not projected to cost more for customers than what the Ubereats program currently costs now.

Uberelevate estimates that a delivery of 1.5 miles could be completed by drone in 7 minutes, while carrying out the operation by ground transportation would take 21 minutes.

Bloomberg reports that the service is being tested with Big Macs and French Fries from Mcdonald's. Mcdonald's ice cream is even being attempted by the service.

The announcement comes after Amazon recently said that it could soon use drones to deliver its packages by this fall. Yet Amazon is facing some hesitation from within the company if it can actually meet that promise.

Uber Elevate is Uber's program to make aerial ridesharing for cities across the world a reality as a way to reduce traffic and travel times for commuters.