Cargo and Uber announced an exclusive global partnership yesterday that will see Cargo’s snack vending boxes inside more cars in the ride hailing giant’s fleet.
Cargo allows drivers to make a little extra scratch from their driving gig by selling snacks and small sundries from their car’s center console. That includes stuff like gum, Skittles, or lip balm—small stuff you may not bring with you on your way out for the evening. Riders select and pay for items using the Cargo app, and the company says 7,000 drivers have earned more than $1 million since the company’s launch in 2017.
The partnership with Uber comes a little more than a month after Cargo expanded to LA, and is now opening up operations in San Francisco. Cargo, which was founded in June of 2016, has raised $8.7 million in funding.
Interestingly, despite the words “global” and “exclusive,” non-Uber drivers will still be able to use Cargo. For now, payments for snacks will still go through the Cargo app, but could get baked directly into the Uber app, which would throw up a (small) barrier to other ride sharing services.
This move to monetize more of a ride comes just a couple of months after a study showing that Uber drivers earn on average $11.77 an hour (after Uber takes its cut), and that the average wage (taking out additional costs such as vehicle expenses) was $9.21 an hour. Giving drivers the option of earning additional revenue for almost no extra work is a good way of incentivizing them to stick around and stay on Uber’s platform.