Instacart grocery delivery in New York City has become more expensive, with the company introducing an additional fee for city residents.

As of February 2, customers in New York City who order groceries through Instacart began paying an additional fee. This is due to increased costs due to the city's new regulations for delivery platforms, according to reports. Silive.

The flat fee of $5,99 is designated on the company's website as the "NYC regulatory response fee." It is intended to offset increased operating costs resulting from government regulations on delivery services.

The fee comes as new city rules expand minimum wage guarantees for grocery delivery app couriers.

New requirements for couriers' wages

According to new rulesCouriers must earn at least $21,44 per hour before tips. There are also annual increases.

On the subject: Tip first, order later: New DoorDash and Uber Eats rules take effect in New York City

Additionally, regulations Requires food delivery platforms to enable a tipping option before placing an order. The default minimum tipping amount must be 10% of the total order amount.

Additional fees in the Instacart structure

The new fee complements Instacart's existing commission system, which may include:

• delivery fee;
• service fee;
• long distance delivery fee;
• priority service fee;
• night order fee;
• deposit for bottles.

Criticism from the company

In an official statement, Instacart criticized the city government's approach, calling the measures taken misguided and burdensome.

Instacart said it had warned officials in advance about potential increased costs for customers.

"For months, we've raised clear concerns, backed by data, that this policy would lead to higher grocery delivery costs for New Yorkers. But those warnings have been repeatedly ignored," the company said in a statement.

Investigations

The introduction of the new fee comes at a challenging time for the company. In December, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer called on federal regulators to investigate Instacart's use of artificial intelligence to charge different customers different prices for the same items.

This call follows the publication of a major investigation by Consumer Reports and the Groundwork Collaborative, which alleges that Instacart charged some customers up to 23% more for the same item.

"When a shopper fills their grocery cart—in real life or online—they need to be confident they're being treated fairly and that prices are transparent. What we're seeing increasingly is companies like Instacart using artificial intelligence to deceive consumers. Different shoppers are being charged different prices for the same items," Schumer said.

The investigation led the grocery delivery service to stop "product pricing tests."

That same month, the company settled the Federal Trade Commission's claims.

She paid $60,000,000. These claims related to misleading statements about Instacart+ subscriptions and free delivery promotions.