Skip to main content

Uber's on-demand ice cream truck visits The Verge

Uber's on-demand ice cream truck visits The Verge

/

As a child, the ice cream truck never swings around the block right when you want it to. On-demand sedan service Uber wants to alleviate your frustration, if only for a day, and only if you're in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, or Washington DC. Uber partnered up with ice cream trucks in these cities and is delivering ice cream straight to wherever you are via its mobile app. The deal is $12 for five ice creams.

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

uber ice cream sandwich 1020 3
uber ice cream sandwich 1020 3

As a child, the ice cream truck never swings around the block right when you want it to. On-demand sedan service app Uber wants to alleviate your frustration, if only for a day, and only if you're in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, or Washington DC. Uber partnered up with ice cream trucks in these cities and is delivering ice cream straight to wherever you are via its mobile app. The deal is $12 for five ice creams, and if you're in New York, that means five delectable sandwiches from Coolhaus.

To order, all you need to do is open Uber's app for iPhone or Android, tap the ice cream icon, and then "request ice cream here." Once your request has been processed, you can see the truck on a map as it makes its way towards you. The Uber trucks don't accept walk-ins or cash, so you'll need to order with your credit card through the app if you want to get in on the action.

While Uber's expensive sedan service may be out of reach for many, ice cream is appealing and cheap enough to incentivize people into inputting their credit cards in the Uber app — and hopefully, see how easy ordering a car someday might be. The company has previously tried other contextual on-demand items like a Mariachi band on Cinco de Mayo, and is considering continuing the ice cream delivery if things go well today. So the on-demand ice cream is more of a cute promotional stunt than anything else, but it's a tasty one, and is a bit more proof that on-demand groceries, lunch, cars, and even consumer electronics products are taking over.

Uber on-demand ice cream truck photos

1/10