Load shedding has prompted some strange products but none are perhaps as odd as power banks you can rent for a bit. But you can always get odder. Uber Eats has teamed up with Adoozy Power, the company behind the aforementioned power bank rentals, to arrange delivery of your essential backup (which you inexplicably forgot to bring along) at any time.
Thanks to a new feature called ‘Adoozy Collect’ within the app, Uber Eats users will be able to request (and return) a rented power bank to the company handing them out. Most South Africans have become pretty power-savvy in recent years but when you need a battery boost you really need it.
The power of subscription?
It’s helpful to mention how the Adoozy Power system works. Subscribers (yes, it’s a subscription service) have various payment options. R50 will get you a once-off session of up to three hours with a power bank. R80 is the daily rate and gets you two power banks for a day. R150 is the weekly cost and secures up to fourteen rentals in a seven-day period. Or you can just give Adoozy R200 a month and get up to 60 power bank rentals over 30 days.
The new partnership between Uber Eats and Adoozy doesn’t change much other than the delivery mechanism and the cost. In addition to paying your regular subscription fee, you’re also on the hook for Uber Direct delivery fees. It might seem excessive but if you’re absolutely stuffed for power and need your smartphone or tablet working, you’ll probably welcome the option.
For now, though, only users in (parts of) Johannesburg are able to use the new feature. If you’re in Sandton, Rosebank, Houghton, Randburg, Greenside, Melrose, or Bedfordview and are in need of emergency power, the pilot program for this new Uber Eats partnership has kicked off today and you’re part of it. Coverage will expand at a later, though unspecified, date.