Yahoo Lifestyle Uber delivery rider's brutal $70 reality exposes problem with 'dangerous' job
Ali posted screenshots of how much he's earning each week and he said it's not enough in a cost-of-living crisis.
An Uber delivery rider has revealed how much he makes during a gruelling and "dangerous" nine-hour work period. Ali recently lost his remote job as an Android developer and decided to become a delivery rider for Uber while he looked for other casual positions.
But the 38-year-old was dismayed at earning less than $70 after hours of pedalling his bike around Melbourne. He told Yahoo Finance it's not enough money to keep up with the rising cost of living.
"I'm definitely struggling," he said.
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He said it takes him up to 30 minutes to ride from his home to a "hotspot" like Avondale Heights where restaurants and orders are located. The food will sometimes be ready when he arrives and other times he has to wait around 10 minutes before he can jump back on his bike.
The journeys to people's doors can take up to half an hour and then he has to cycle back to a hotspot and wait for a delivery order.
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During his recent nine-hour stint on the bike, he made 11 deliveries, which netted him $69.15. That was the only stint he did that week and it costs him $69 a week to rent the bike he delivers on.
Ali said the job is "dangerous" because of badly designed bike lanes, people opening their car doors without checking, and also when he rides in the rain. He's had multiple minor crashes and has been injured on the job as a result.
Uber Australia told Yahoo Finance it has introduced a bunch of measures to ensure rider safety and protect them, including education modules, free high-vis PPE, fatigue management systems, an insurance and support package, and a 24/7 incident response team.
'It's really frustrating'
Ali told Yahoo Finance the most he's earned so far was $114 for an eight-hour day and the least was $16 for four hours. He's now working four to five times around the end of the week because people seem to be ordering more takeaway food then.
After working from Thursday to Sunday one week, he earned $362 from 35 deliveries.
"This is really frustrating as I always work at peak times," he said. "I also always ride to hotspots like Essendon Airport, which are too far but I've got no choice, but that's what I get on a usual day.
"I know neighbourhoods such as Footscray or CBD or Flemington might have better conditions but they are too far from me to ride there and go back."
He said going to a more densely-populated area of Melbourne won't work for him as it'll add hours onto his travel time.
Many riders are facing the same issues
Ali isn't alone in his struggle.
After posting his pay cheque on social media, an Uber delivery driver said sometimes the effort wasn't worth the money.
"I stopped once I realised I was always in a deficit so I was spending more on maintenance and depreciation than I was earning," they revealed. "It can work as a second casual job on the weekends but it's not something anyone should do as a full time job if they want to make any money."
Another rider told SBS: "When I started in 2018, the pay was alright – I was able to pay bills, college, my tuition fees, and I was also able to save some money. But with the pay I'm getting now I can barely survive."
A third said: "If you're giving $5 for the order, [and] we deliver two orders in one hour, then how are we going to make money? If you decrease the pay, we try to rush - that's how accidents happen."
'Change the algorithm'
Ali said Uber needs to change how its algorithm calculates payment based on delivery areas.
"It doesn't include the difficulty of the route," he told Yahoo Finance. "My neighbourhood has lots of downhills and uphills so it takes more energy and time to deliver the orders."
He added: "Imagine $7/hour and I have to sometimes drag the bicycle up hills because it doesn't have that much power. That's really messed up."
Uber Australia told Yahoo Finance it has a robust system for paying its drivers and riders.
“Fares for deliveries are calculated based on a number of factors, including the estimated time they take to complete, as well as the distance of the trip," a spokesperson said.
"What this means in practice is that for two trips of the same distance, a delivery person may earn more if one trip takes significantly longer to complete, for example, if there is heavy traffic on that route."
Uber said riders will always see their estimated earnings "upfront" before they decide to accept or reject offers.
Warning that prices could go up if pay is changed
Legislation was brought in earlier this year that gives the Fair Work Commission (FWC) new powers to set minimum standards for gig economy workers like delivery riders and drivers.
Under these new minimum standards, workers could soon get a base rate for their pay.
Uber supports that measure, however, in a submission to a Senate inquiry, the company warned the wage hike could see prices for food delivery sore as much as 85 per cent.
However, that admission sparked backlash from an industrial relations expert.
“What that is reflecting is the current below-acceptable levels of pay being received by the current workers,” Fiona Macdonald, from the Australia Institute, said.
“If platform companies are making a profit that relies on paying workers less, then arguably the difference could come out of the companies’ pockets, not the consumer’s.”
Ali told Yahoo Finance customers they shouldn't need to tip him or other drivers to improve their pay conditions, but he said something needs to change because it's not fair right now.
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