Goodbye legends! Zomato suspends intercity deliveries; Increases platform costs for users by 25%

Zomato has decided to suspend its intercity food delivery service Intercity Legends. This popular feature on the food delivery platform allowed you to order iconic and famous dishes from other cities in India. For now, this part of the app has been suspended and the app tab says: ‘Improvements are underway.’ Read on to know more about this and other updates you will notice in the Zomato app.

Zomato is saying goodbye to Legends, its intercity food delivery service

Bad news for the foodies in the country: Zomato has decided to suspend its Intercity Legends service. If you click on the ‘Legends’ tab in the app, you will see a ‘Now closed’. Be back soon’ notification on this section. Moreover, it also states: “Improvements are underway. Keep an eye on us, because we will be available to serve you again soon.” So while this suspension seems temporary, it has certainly upset the food lovers who love to try popular dishes from other cities in the comfort of their homes!

According to reports, Zomato took this step as the revamped version of Legends did not see many transactions between users. The company even faced a legal problem when a Delhi resident accused them of supplying pre-filled food from a warehouse instead of the reputed restaurants in other cities.

When initially launched in 2022, Zomato allowed food delivery from select restaurants in select cities to a specific set of cities. However, since the revamp, the food delivery company has started delivering pre-stocked items from other cities. This allowed delivery times to be shorter and even more cities to fall under this model.

Also read: Zomato filed demand and penalty of ₹11.8 Crore GST for export services for almost four years

Also decide to increase platform fees by 25% per order

Besides the suspension of Legends, Zomato has also decided to increase the platform fees by 25% per order. Effective April 20, Zomato has increased this charge to ₹5 per order. The platform fee is a fixed amount per order charged by the company. According to reports, this fee will be increased in areas like National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Lucknow.

Since its launch in August 2023, Zomato has increased its platform fees to boost its margins and profits. Initially, the platform fee was ₹2, but it was subsequently increased to ₹4 on January 1, 2024, before this latest increase.

So you can no longer get biryani from Hyderabad or rasgullas from Kolkata delivered to your home! Let us know your thoughts about these two steps of Zomato in the comments section.

Cover image courtesy of: X/zomato & Canva

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