“It’s a thrill and privilege for Australia to be the first market anywhere in the world to test and finesse the new Dine Out product – one we know will benefit restaurants and bring additional convenience and value to Sydneysiders and visitors alike,” Uber Eats Australia and New Zealand managing director Ed Kitchen said.

“I am proud to be able to launch this technology for Australian small business owners in Sydney first, though as a proud Melburnian I’ve assured my friends and family that the plan is to launch in Victoria in the coming months.” 

It’s hoped well-knownrestaurants like Catalina, Wings and Tins, Raw Bar and more will be available at launch next month, while existing Uber Eats partner restaurants who have only been doing delivery orders in the app will also join the Dine Out booking option.

Uber also signalled its intention to enter the world of autonomous cars through a partnership with Volkswagen to launch the VW ID.Buzz “Kombi” Van as a self-driving ride-sharing option in Los Angeles early next year.

This is an emerging space for the future of transport, with Google’s Waymo already operating in multiple US cities (including Los Angeles) and Elon Musk’s Tesla recently announcing a “RoboTaxi” version of its popular electric car.

For Australians, there’s no sign of driverless Ubers any time soon, instead, in addition to the new Dine Out option there are a host of new features coming to existing and new users.

These include new Ride Passes, which allow you as a subscriber to lock in a price on a specific route, ensuring you’re avoiding any surges in price due to weather or traffic. A Prepaid Pass will allow you to pre-purchase between 5 and 20 rides on a regular route for additional discounts.

Uber is also going back to the future with a carpool-like product called Route Share, offering savings of up to 50 per cent on a trip, you’ll share the journey with up to two other passengers where the Route Share operates on busy route corridors.

There are also new Member Days for Uber One monthly subscribers where partner organisations will offer discounts to members, and a new Savings Slider allowing you to compare prices on popular grocery items being ordered on the Uber Eats app.

Trevor Long travelled to New York as a guest of Uber.