(Bloomberg) -- Food delivery companies including Deliveroo Plc, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV and Uber Technologies Inc. limited their services for several hours in London on Friday as Storm Eunice battered the U.K.
Once conditions eased in areas most affected by adverse weather, some deliveries began to be made available, although strong winds are expected to continue into the weekend.
“We will monitor the situation closely as riders safety is our absolute priority,” a spokesperson for Deliveroo said.
The Met Office issued a red warning for London and Southeast England on Friday, amid winds as high as 80 mph (129 kilometers). More than 250,000 homes in Britain were without power and hundreds of flights were canceled.
Most inner-city orders fulfilled by food delivery companies in the U.K. are done via bicycle, scooter or on foot, putting workers at risk of being knocked into the road by the wind or injured by debris.
Just Eat said it suspended delivery services in all areas with red weather warnings, while Uber said it had temporarily paused its Uber Eats app in those locations while beginning to open up where warnings have been downgraded. The company’s ride-hailing service remained active, with “surge” pricing inflating the cost of trips.
Rapid delivery companies also imposed restrictions, including Gorillas and Zapp.
“We have temporarily closed all U.K. warehouses until 4:00pm,” a Gorillas spokesperson said. “All scheduled riders will of course receive their hourly wage until the end of their regular shift.”
A Zapp spokesman said that the company had paused service in most locations, and that customers can check the startup’s app for live updates.
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