Uber Eats to reach 70 percent of US population by year’s end

Uber says its Eats restaurant food delivery service will grow to cover 70 percent of the U.S. population by the end of 2018.

The ride-hailing company says the three-year-old service started this year delivering food in 98 U.S. metro areas. By year’s end it will grow to 243. The service now covers about half the U.S. population mainly in large metro areas. The expansion will be into smaller cities.

Vice President Jason Droege (DROW-gee) says orders last month were 10 times more than September of 2016. Eats is part of Uber’s plan to use its app expertise to create new businesses and build revenue.

The company charges consumers $1.99 to $7 for delivery based mainly on travel time from restaurants, which also are charged. It’s now in about 350 cities worldwide.