Grubhub Expands College Robot Delivery to 170K More Students

Food ordering and delivery firm Grubhub has teamed up with autonomous delivery services provider Starship Technologies to offer robot delivery services at U.S. college campuses.

According to a Tuesday (Oct. 11) news release, this service is already available at the University of Kentucky, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Wayne State University, Southern Methodist University and Fairfield University, and will be introduced at a number of other college campuses later in the year.

Read more: Grubhub Gears Up for Full Rollout of Campus Delivery Robots

“Robot delivery solves the unique challenges of accessing hard-to-reach areas that come from operating on a college campus,” said Adam Herbert, senior director of campus partnerships at Grubhub. “With Starship’s robots, students can enjoy a fun, new way to order their favorite meals right to their door — whether that be the library, their dorm, academic hall or another campus building.”

The partnership gives more than 170,000 students access to robot delivery services, joining more than 25 other schools where Starship’s robots are in operation. It also expands Grubhub’s delivery options for college students, following the company’s June announcement that it was joining forces with self-driving robotics firm Cartken.

A Grubhub spokesperson told PYMNTS Tuesday that the Cartken partnership is still in place, offering deliveries at The Ohio State University and Arizona University.

“We see the value in working with multiple providers to ensure that our campus partners can find a solution that best fits their needs,” the spokesperson said.

Learn more: Restaurant Industry Dining out on College Students’ Changing Habits

PYMNTS noted last month that restaurants and food delivery aggregators were gearing up to meet the demands of students returning to campus, albeit with the knowledge that dining habits changed during the pandemic.

In addition to Grubhub’s on-campus efforts, competitor DoorDash in April announced the launch of DashPass for Students, a lower-cost membership program designed for college students, which offers free delivery and other perks for a flat monthly fee.

“Access to convenient, fast and affordable ways to get everything you need is key for busy students on the go,” Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, chief marketing officer at DoorDash, said in that announcement.