Instacart to charge more during peak delivery times

Instacart announced it would institute “Busy Pricing” during popular delivery times to ensure delivery is always available.

During peak delivery times, such as Sunday nights, the San Francisco-based company will charge a minimum fee of $1 extra. The actual surcharge may be higher.

Delivery times when Busy Pricing applies will appear as orange in the Instacart app. The company said customers could avoid the surcharge by placing orders in advance.

So-called “surge pricing” has been implemented by other technology-based companies, including the car service Uber.