I've been working dinner hours in a college city for a few weeks now (2 or 3 nights a week).
My best night I averaged $20 an hour, my worst night I averaged just over 10 an hour. Overall, my hourly rate is about $16-17 an hour averaged over all 50 orders.
Pros:
- The market in my area for ubereats is way better than I anticipated. I get 1.8x boosts (5-9pm) thursday-saturday and usually around 1.5x during other days of the week.
- I've never had an issue with too much downtime. I usually chain orders for 3-4 hours with very few breaks.
- People are often surprised to see me on a bike. I sometimes get compliments and/or pity (I've ridden in cold af weather and in rain).
- I'm getting super strong quads and calves. It also tends to be a decent mood booster.
Cons:
- I've had to spend a decent amount of money so far on winter clothing. 20 degree weather isn't that bad if you're outside for a few minutes, but when you're outside for 3 hours it starts to bite. My balls felt like scooped ice-cream when I got home some days.
- It's brutal sometimes. My area has a lot of hills, especially on campus. 1 mile uphill is a completely different world compared to 1 mile downhill.
- Car drivers. I've had a few close calls, but I'm learning to ride defensively.
Things I learned:
- I can and I should cherry pick my orders. Now that uber shows the drop off destination before you accept, this has become much easier. Shorter orders are typically better on a bicycle. Anything that takes me 3 miles away from the busy areas is not worth it. 3 miles can be tiring, plus it implies a 3 mile trip just to get back to the main area. My best success has been when I do back to back orders 1-2 miles around the area where most of the businesses are. A bicycle shines where parking is difficult, and I find I get more tips when I do short trips in the downtown area.
- A good backpack is super important. The one I use is HUGE. I've never had to turn down an order based on its components. I've delivered all kinds of drinks, pizzas, and big orders. On one of my first nights, I had a drink spill. Afterward, I started using my free doordash bag and a small stack of drink carriers to fill up empty space in my bag. This has prevented things like soups and drinks from moving around too much and I've never had issues with spills since. If you're curious what bag I use, here's an amazon link https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T99HNM1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's big to the point of being obnoxious and kind of expensive, but very worth it. I feel like Norman Reedus.
-Double orders are a risk. I've had great experiences and terrible experiences with them. I once chose to do a double order with Popeyes. IT was 3 miles from my usual area, so already kind of a risk, but the guarantee was nice. I ended up waiting 35 minutes at the store because they were insanely busy. Each of the two orders had me go an additional 2.5 miles. The whole ordeal took about 1 and a half hours and I only made 13 dollars with no tips. When double orders are in my area, however, they can be nice. The issue is they never tell you the drop off location for the second order. My best experience was delivering two orders to two customers who were in the exact same location, which was a huge score.
I'm curious to know what my fellow bike couriers are making. Also I've heard of people doing crazy long shifts on bicycles (8-10 hours).How do you do that without an electric bike? I'm usually exhausted after the 4 hours mark.
Thanks for reading, peace.
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