UPDATED: Sept. 8 at 8:15 p.m.

Syracuse students rushing to class no longer have to wait in line at the various food courts and cafes on campus to grab a bite. A new food pickup and delivery app has come to Syracuse University, giving students quicker access to food services both on and off campus.

Tapingo is a San Francisco-based mobile app that offers pickup or delivery services from local Syracuse businesses in addition to cafes and dining centers on campus.

The service was created by Harvard University graduate Daniel Almog in 2012 and has since spread to more than 150 college campuses across the U.S. and Canada. After a series of years in the making, the app can achieve profitability within 21 days of being launched in a new market.

The app went national from its partnership with food service provider Sodexo, hitting approximately 25 percent of major four year universities in the United States. Almog capitalized on both the hectic lifestyles of college students and the dependency local businesses have on students to create a service that benefits everyone on or near a college campus.

“We often get inbound requests from local, independent restaurants who hear about our mobile capabilities from peers or students who frequent their establishments — for these restauranteurs, getting on Tapingo is a great way to engage students and expand their business,” said Tapingo’s public relations manager Leanne Reis in an email.

Reis attributed the app’s success to how accustomed the millennial generation has become to instant accessibility.

The company has reported that the average user takes advantage of the app more than 5 times per week, and that in one month more than 3 million transactions occur.

Reis said part of the app’s growth stems from partnerships with national chains found commonly on college campuses, including Chipotle, Taco Bell and 7-Eleven.

“We choose the most popular and beloved local, national and regional restaurants for students and seek partnerships with high-reputation brands,” says Reis.

Upon signing up, Tapingo lets users choose their school, enter their student ID and browse restaurants and services according to their location. After browsing the menus of local businesses, users can customize their order and then choose pickup, which is free, or delivery, which includes a small fee.

The app then either notifies users when their food is ready or gives an estimated wait time depending on whether they chose pickup or delivery. Users can also save orders, payment methods and addresses.

Although the app has grown popular among many college campuses, the company has yet to see whether it will yield success at Syracuse.

Pickup services on campus currently include the options in Slocum Cafe, Food.com and Pages Cafe. Delivery services provide selections from Goldstein Food Court, Kimmel Food Court and Schine Food Court.

Although Tapingo’s delivery service is relatively new, it has already spread through various levels of food service including in-seat stadium deliveries and event ticketing.

Reis said they have new partnerships in the pipeline and are adding new features to the app. Tapingo currently offers services from Starbucks and Chipotle and is in the works of adding businesses from Marshall Street and beyond such as Pita Pit, Subway and Wendy’s.

Students are still wary about the app and whether they will use it.

“With the current options of food? Most likely not,” junior communication and rhetorical studies major Max Mirabella said. “The only time I ever want food from Schine is if I’m physically in the building. If the options were more diverse I’d probably give it a try.”

Tapingo currently has more than 30 on-campus retail locations at SU and plans to expand.

CLARIFICATION: In a previous version of this column, the profitability timeline for Tapingo and its availability on campus was unclear. When launched in a new market, the app can achieve profitability within 21 days. At SU, there are currently more than 30 campus retail locations.

Published on September 7, 2016 at 8:13 pm