Food Delivery Apps and Digital Labour

Food delivery applications uses algorithms to determine routes for delivery riders. These optimization problems take into account a wide range of factors, and occurs on various stages of the delivery process. It begins with the riders picking a location to start his work. Sometimes delivery platforms provide information on which regions are currently dense with orders, and which areas are expected to receive higher orders. The riders need to decide on whether to move to regions with denser demand, as a larger amount of riders reallocating could result in decreasing delivery fees when they arrive. Next, the algorithm would plan the order and path to pick up orders from restaurants, as sometimes riders simultaneously process multiple orders. This takes into account the distance to the restaurants, the speed of food preparation, and sometimes the preferred routes of the riders. Here, there is a great need for the accuracy in the algorithm. From the perspective of the restaurant, they ne...

Food delivery apps often employ their drivers and riders as independent contractors, calling their positions “delivery partners”. This more lenient job position allows for all of the benefits that convince people to become delivery drivers in the first place – flexibility and freedom. The downside to this position is that since drivers are technically “self-employed,” they are not given benefits such as sick pay, superannuation, or holiday pay. Drivers are generally not trained nor given protection during bad weather. To maintain their modes of transportation, they need to pay out of pocket for gas or repairs, which all has to be factored into the amount that they are actually paid for working.  A survey conducted by the Transport Workers Union in Australia showed that one in three delivery drivers had been injured on the job, with 80% of them receiving no help from the company after their injury. Additionally, more than half of them say that they didn’t have enough masks, gloves, ...

Due to their job position as independent contractors, delivery drivers’ pay is determined by an algorithm. This algorithm sometimes allows workers to earn much more money than other minimum-wage workers, but often they earn much less than the minimum wage. Generally, an hourly wage on a delivery app is determined by the subtotal of what drivers are paid for each delivery. Therefore the wage is a combination of the amount of orders that are completed, how far away those orders are, whether a driver does multiple orders in one go, and how quickly they are completed. In addition to being paid by the app for their delivery, drivers are also sometimes tipped by customers.  While the payment system seems quite straightforward, it often isn’t. Menulog, an Australian delivery app, does not explain their payment model. There have been reports of deliveries that cost the exact same, though they were very different in terms of distance. The response that Menulog gave to these complaints was t...

As a food delivery driver your work experience is driven by the app you use. They will determine everything – which restaurant you go to next, how far you’ll drive to get there, and how much money you’ll make.  Some apps, such as DoorDash, use a separate company credit card to buy the food. As part of the Vice article’s collection of driver testimony, Sophal Yos, who is a delivery driver in Liverpool, Australia, explained that the Red Card, which DoorDash uses, makes using the app and delivering food extremely complex. While the majority of delivery platforms allow customers to order and pay for their food directly on the app, leaving delivery drivers to only pick up and deliver the food, DoorDash uses another system. With DoorDash’s Red Card, drivers sometimes have to contact the restaurant personally, order the food that the customer wants, and then pay for it with the company provided Red Card. Using this method makes delivery drivers waste a lot of time waiting, thus they will ...

Ivanova, Mirela, Joanna Bronowicka, Eva Kocher, and Anne Degner. “Foodora and Deliveroo: The App as a Boss? Control and Autonomy in App-Based Management – the Case of Food Delivery Riders.” Working Paper Forschungsförderung: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf 107 (December 2018): 3–52. https://d-nb.info/1179200845/34.  Kassel, Nat. “We Asked Delivery Drivers Which Is the Worst Company to Work For.” Vice, April 28, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgeyex/we-asked-food-delivery-drivers-uber-eats-menulog-deliveroo-which-is-the-worst-company-pay.  Luna, Taryn. “California Voters Approve Prop. 22, Allowing Uber and Lyft Drivers to Remain Independent Contractors.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, November 4, 2020. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-03/2020-california-election-tracking-prop-22.  Rachwani, Mostafa. “Home Food Delivery: What Is the Most Ethical Way to Order in?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, October 24, 2020. https://www.theguardia...

  Anabella I have never worked for a food delivery app, but do order from them often! I think it is interesting that the tipping culture difference between North America and Europe held over to food delivery apps. I have seen lots of news stories about how tips help delivery drivers in North America, as well as how certain apps take a cut, but since I was focusing more on France in this observation the issue did not come up. I have a few friends from high school who drive for UberEats back home in Vancouver, and they definitely use the apps as a way to make a bit extra easy money since they are driving friends around anyways, rather than a serious job. The only people I know who work as full-time delivery drivers work for a specific restaurant (mostly Domino's) rather than a food delivery app. Catalin This past summer I applied to be a delivery driver for Instacart and DoorDash in the United States. I was working in a summer job that I really enjoyed, but it wasn’t paying me that m...