Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Topic started by: D.A.L.E. on 04 July, 2018, 09:39:48 pm
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Increasingly spending time at my girlfriends where I'm at a loss for things to do while she's at uni. Could be an OK way to pass the time/ride my bike/make mad paper.
Any experiences?
(I already ride my bike like a knobhead, I've got that covered before anyone starts)
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If it's a supplement to your 'real' income then maybe. If it's to support you and your other half then you'd make more as a security guard.
The reality of the 'freedom of self employment' whilst actually working for someone is that you end up putting ridiculously long hours in for less than the minimum wage. Plus the glamour of delivering takeaway food to top floor flats and coming back to find that your bike's been nicked.
A good friend has been struggling to make anything like a living at it around Leeds for the last two years. It's brutal on the bikes and on you. Bits will break, so will you.
I wouldn't ~ but that's because mending bikes is more rewarding. YMMV.
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There's a thread here, mostly of whinging, but some experiences too:
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=102345.0
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There's a thread here, mostly of whinging, but some experiences too:
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=102345.0
I'm going to sign up. For no other reason than their mere existence appears to wind people up.
If it's a supplement to your 'real' income then maybe. If it's to support you and your other half then you'd make more as a security guard.
The reality of the 'freedom of self employment' whilst actually working for someone is that you end up putting ridiculously long hours in for less than the minimum wage. Plus the glamour of delivering takeaway food to top floor flats and coming back to find that your bike's been nicked.
A good friend has been struggling to make anything like a living at it around Leeds for the last two years. It's brutal on the bikes and on you. Bits will break, so will you.
I wouldn't ~ but that's because mending bikes is more rewarding. YMMV.
I reckon there's mad stacks to be had round here.
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Junior at Edinburgh Uni has worked for them on and off for a few years.
Suited his lifestyle and needs.
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Junior at Edinburgh Uni has worked for them on and off for a few years.
Suited his lifestyle and needs.
Does he still? I'm in need of a referral code...
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Junior at Edinburgh Uni has worked for them on and off for a few years.
Suited his lifestyle and needs.
Does he still? I'm in need of a referral code...
Yes, I think so. I'll ask him now.
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Sending a reply by PM...
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Plus the glamour of delivering takeaway food to top floor flats and coming back to find that your bike's been nicked.
You've sold it well. Where do I sign?
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If only there was a portable solution to bike security, etc.
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If your going to be working for Deliveroo, you'll have to leave the lightweight bicycles at home and get yourself a BSO, if the Deliveroo agents round here in Edinburgh are anything to go by!
Here is something typical of the Deliveroo riders
http://r.ebay.com/pTULLz
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If your going to be working for Deliveroo, you'll have to leave the lightweight bicycles at home and get yourself a BSO, if the Deliveroo agents round here in Edinburgh are anything to go by!
Here is something typical of the Deliveroo riders
http://r.ebay.com/pTULLz
The quality of bikes riden by deliveroo, uber eats,, and thuisbezorg (justeat), are well above the quality of most Dutch bikes. Some, usually Thuisbezorg, riders have specially designed cargo pedal assist bikes, fitted out with an insulated box front and rear.
The quality of similar bikes i saw in Canterbury was very variable, from road bikes to mtb bsos. Which surprised me. You'd think if your income depended on the efficiency and reliability of your bike, that you'd ride something better...
J
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They appear to be self employed here in the burgh. We do have a few local companies who provide bikes for their employees, mostly cargo/bakfiets type as you say with electric assisted motors.
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They appear to be self employed here in the burgh. We do have a few local companies who provide bikes for their employees, mostly cargo/bakfiets type as you say with electric assisted motors.
Well, that's the controversy I think, they get around all sorts of shit by using 'self-employed' delivery people.
I read this a few months ago - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2018/jan/08/confessions-of-a-deliveroo-rider-get-fit-by-delivering-fast-food
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I thought about Deliverooing when I was riding my year record and now I find myself doing Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Just seemed like the perfect job for me. Work when I like and get paid to ride my bike. Turns out I was right.
If it's a supplement to your 'real' income then maybe. If it's to support you and your other half then you'd make more as a security guard.
Not for me. I generally earn 50% more per hour than I was working in a warehouse.
The reality of the 'freedom of self employment' whilst actually working for someone is that you end up putting ridiculously long hours in for less than the minimum wage.
No. I work fewer hours than I did in a warehouse for the same money, including time spent waiting, but only now that I know (mostly) which hours and days to work. It does depend on demand, so not everywhere will be the same.
Deliveroo and Uber Eats are different. I can log in any time with Uber but have to book in advance with Deliveroo but with Deliveroo, I can only log in near the town centre. I get more orders with Deliveroo, so it's worth booking my hours and turning up. But Uber have good promotions, so I get paid double for a delivery. Uber deliveries don't come so often but I can just sit at home with the phone on and effectively do a shopping trip for a tenner while I'm doing other stuff.
But there are times when you're probably wasting your time because hardly anyone will order any food.
A lot of this most likely depends on the town or city you work in. I expect London is non stop 24/7
Plus the glamour of delivering takeaway food to top floor flats and coming back to find that your bike's been nicked.
Not for me. The flats I deliver to, I have to be let in to the locked door, so I bring my bike in and find their flat. That means I get to look at the view from the window of a tower block that otherwise, I would never see.
A good friend has been struggling to
make anything like a living at it around Leeds for the last two years. It's brutal on the bikes and on you. Bits will break, so will you.
I think it depends a lot on the town or city you work in. If nobody orders food, you're wasting your time. Uber Eats never seem to give me many deliveries, so I now only switch their app on for deliveries when I've earned my keep from Deliveroo and am at a loose end, just reading or whatever. They pay more so it's still worth the extra faff to make their deliveries but I think that will die once they stop their lucrative promotions if they don't get more orders. I may end up ditching them but only time will tell.
Definitely harder on the bike, but I'm often on Milton Keynes Redways so a lot of braking and rough surfaces. I don't ride hard if I don;t want to. There's no need. It's as hard as you want to make it. Trips are short so riding fast doesn't make any real difference. Not having to wait for the restaurant and picking a good route make the most difference. I've heard 2-3 deliveries per hour being about the most you can do. I generally do 3 per hour unless business is slow. Half the time, you're waiting in a restaurant, so it seems.
I wouldn't ~ but that's because mending bikes is more rewarding. YMMV.
Probably not financially, for me anyway and I'd rather ride bikes than fix them. Though it has crossed my mind to offer my services as a mechanic to Deliveroo riders.
It's also crossed my mind to do a Deliveroo tour of Britain. Ride to towns or cites and pay for the trip by Deliverooing. I am thinking of a few days Deliverooing in Cambridge and staying at the YHA. No need to book hours in advance there. I could still visit other places to work/tour, just need to book hours in advance. If Cambridge works out, I might find myself setting off with a tent and my Deliveroo bag in Spring 2019...
With Deliveroo and Uber today, I earned about the same as I would for a whole day in my old warehouse job in about 4 hours. Switched my Uber app on again and got nothing for an hour, so switched off.
Now I've worked for Deliveroo a bit and have good ratings, I can book my hours a bit earlier so should be able to pick more of what I want before they get booked, which will free me up a bit more.
It's not for everyone and I doubt that every town or city is great. It has it's faults. But for me, it's a whole lot better than warehouse drudgery.
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I was unaware of Uber's 'boost' payments/incentives when I wrote that. Said friend has reorganised/reinvented himself as an exclusive Ubermensch. He goes where the bonus is and puts in some stupendous hours.
Is he making money? This morning we bought a Kinesis Crosslight disc with Ultegra Di2 . . .
#1 son is considering signing up, too.
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You just don't get stories about working for Deliveroo by Ultra Long Distance Cycling champions on other cycling forums.
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If I could get the same number of deliveries as I get with Deliveroo at the Uber Eats promotion rates, I'd keep going for as long as I could and could probably earn around £300 a day or more. That assumes no slack periods with food orders, so £200 might be ore realistic. Still a whole lot better than I'd get in a warehouse several times over.
I think that Uber had problems doing my background check and that may be why I never got so many deliveries and it got sorted after I signed up to Deliveroo.
Might be worth hanging around the restaurants with my Uber bag on Sunday evening to see if I get some work. The promotions aren't as good now. they were about 2.5 times the rate and now are around 1.8 times, but still very good if I can get 2-3 per hour.
Ideally, I'd beast it for a few days and spend a few days at leisure or just beast it for megabucks.
Demand is supposed to go up in the winter, which suits me fine. Earn money cycling in the winter then spend it on cycling in the summer...
The other thing is that (I need to check t be certain first) is that cycling stuff , or anything used for work can be reclaimed on the tax form (so I'll be keeping receipts for all my cycling kit, especially consumables and clothing etc)
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Yeahbut do you get any free food? :D
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Yeahbut do you get any free food? :D
Uber having trouble with background checks is code for "they were worried he'd scoff the cargo".
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Yeahbut do you get any free food? :D
Word on the street is that if the rider with the delivery has a mechanical or a flat or worse wiped out, the order is repeated and goes with another rider.
Hungry riders are not beyond a 'tactical breakdown' or two. Allegedly. Stories of 3 or more meeting up for 'Ho ho ho! Now for a feast!' Beano stylee.
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Yeahbut do you get any free food? :D
I always have a good feed before I start deliveries but that is possible.
If I pick up food from a restaurant and the order gets cancelled before or as I deliver the food, then I have to "dispose" of it. I could of course, just eat the food anyway and not turn up at the address (you are tracked by your phone, so the customer knows where you are, or at least where your phone is, once you pick the food up, though you could always switch off your phone location) and the customer might just cancel the order. But keep doing that and you probably won't get any more calls for delivery.
Besides, there are a lot of homeless in Milton Keynes who would probably be very glad of some nice food.
Yeahbut do you get any free food? :D
Uber having trouble with background checks is code for "they were worried he'd scoff the cargo".
;D
It was more to do with they weren't happy with my photos of proof of identity documents fro my cheap phone. I was still able to do deliveries with Uber (probably some sort of cock up between the background check company and Uber. Uber seem to strive to do as much as possible via computer than human and on this occasion it was the least efficient way and a human had to step in at the end after I'd flagged up problems a few times) While that was going on, I'd earned enough with Uber to buy myself a new phone which has a big 5000mA battery (as Deliverooing and Uber really drain the battery. I also keep it plugged into a power bank and carry a spare power bank)
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If I could get the same number of deliveries as I get with Deliveroo at the Uber Eats promotion rates, I'd keep going for as long as I could and could probably earn around £300 a day or more. That assumes no slack periods with food orders, so £200 might be ore realistic. Still a whole lot better than I'd get in a warehouse several times over.
How much is Uber Eats promotion rates?
£200 for presumably 8 hours is £25 per hour, if 3 deliveries per hour that makes approx £8 per delivery for the rider.
If the rider gets half of what the customer pays, that means the customer pays £16 for the delivery??!!
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I was getting £10 (or more, but not often) per delivery with Uber when the promotion was 2.5 times the rate.
It's more like £8 per delivery now when it's around 1.8-2 times the rate.
Uber pay the extra. It's a promotion. They started in Milton Keynes a few months ago and are attacking Deliveroo, who have been established in MK for a couple of years. I presume that the promotion rate is dropping because they are getting more orders.
I think that the restaurant stumps up some of the money as well. Uber take a percentage of my delivery (but none of the extra from promtions) and they also take a percentage from the restaurant.
I've topped £100 in a day with Deliveroo and a bit of Uber.
I'll be able to book my hours earlier with Deliveroo on Monday for 2 weeks time, so probably will be able to do more hours as they won't all be booked before I get a look in.
I don't think that Uber advertise very well. Most deliveries I do with Uber are from Mc Donalds, who do advertise the Uber delivery service. Uber and the restarants that use them don;t seem to advertise the service. Deliveroo is already known.
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Deliveroo seems to be winning over Uber Eats, simply because I get a good supply of orders with Deliveroo and the Uber Eats promotions aren't so good anymore.
Deliveroo sure do have a wonky payment structure though and a high volume of short distance trips pay best.
I get £2 for picking up food and another £1 for dropping it off. the mileage payment is nonsense though. I've done a delivery which was about 2 miles away and got a total of not much more than £4. Then I have to ride back to where there are lots of restaurants for the next pick up, unless I get lucky and there is a restaurant away from the town that happens to get an order, so that's about 10 mins.
Whereas I has an order and literally delivered it to the building next door. Not even worth mounting my bike for it was that short, and was paid about <50p less than the 2 mile (4 there and back) trip.
Still, all good fun and pays the bills....
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Junior at Edinburgh Uni has worked for them on and off for a few years.
Suited his lifestyle and needs.
Off topic, but a friend of mine paid his way through Uni at Edinburgh by pedalling a rickshaw. Lots of fat [nationality redacted] tourists paying big tips. He later won the Scottish hill-climb championship.
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Crikey there's a thought. I'm currently booked in to deliveroo but would be tempted to give the rickshaw game a crack if I could make the hours work!
I'd hate to get a puncture while passengers were on board though.
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Interesting to read this.
BTW anyone doing Deliveroo or similar can claim a chunk of bike costs against income tax:
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/deliveroo-cycle-deliveries-allowable-expenses (https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/deliveroo-cycle-deliveries-allowable-expenses)
[Ignore gammony comments and 'jokes']
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There are quite a few videos on YouTube where Deliveroo riders have vloged their day. It looks like a lot of hard work and hassle, but can pay well if you're in the right town...
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Champions do it too... :thumbsup:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1933166146
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I despise Uber, Deliveroo et al for their shitty business model but, as the bottom continues to fall out of the corner of the cultural sector in which I operate, this is increasingly looking like something I need to look seriously at doing.
Anyone got any tempting referral codes?
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I despise Uber, Deliveroo et al for their shitty business model but, as the bottom continues to fall out of the corner of the cultural sector in which I operate, this is increasingly looking like something I need to look seriously at doing.
Better to be inside the tent pissing out?
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Slightly OT, does anyone else find it just a bit shit that someone as educated/qualified as Nikki should find herself forced to consider delivering takeaway food as a viable strategy for survival?
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Slightly OT, does anyone else find it just a bit shit that someone as educated/qualified as Nikki should find herself forced to consider delivering takeaway food as a viable strategy for survival?
Yes, it’s appalling. I could go on and on, but then we’d have to move the thread
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Slightly OT, does anyone else find it just a bit shit that someone as educated/qualified as Nikki should find herself forced to consider delivering takeaway food as a viable strategy for survival?
+1 :(
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It's been interesting observing and working through my various prejudices and assumptions.
I don't think there's anything wrong with takeaway delivery per se (although it maybe points to wider issues that are cause for concern), but I'm certainly pissed off that most of the 'opportunities' I'm seeing for professional artists - even ones that stipulate high levels of experience and quality - are remunerated on the basis that said arts practice is a hobby rather than a profession. That and how the gig economy, in all sorts of contexts, is shitting on workers big time; be it delivering takeaway food, the health service or in Higher Education.
Anyway, let's see if I can make enough money from lazy students[1] to supplement my income from gambling[2].
1 Lazy generalisation
2 Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
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It pleases me that my futile efforts to become a multi millionaire are having some useful results , however meagre.
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Don't get me wrong, if it all went tits up I would certainly consider doing the same.
In the early 90s I worked in security - manned guarding industrial sites, key holding & mobile patrol - because it paid the bills.
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It's been interesting observing and working through my various prejudices and assumptions.
I don't think there's anything wrong with takeaway delivery per se (although it maybe points to wider issues that are cause for concern), but I'm certainly pissed off that most of the 'opportunities' I'm seeing for professional artists - even ones that stipulate high levels of experience and quality - are remunerated on the basis that said arts practice is a hobby rather than a profession. That and how the gig economy, in all sorts of contexts, is shitting on workers big time; be it delivering takeaway food, the health service or in Higher Education.
Anyway, let's see if I can make enough money from lazy students[1] to supplement my income from gambling[2].
1 Lazy generalisation
2 Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
For as far as I can go back in time, that has always been the case in fine arts. every time a craft elevated beyond the basic, being that decoration becoming painting or plastering becoming sculpting, the work model has failed. Artists were supported by magnates and very seldom they made a good living simply by selling their work or their skills to the public.
I work in HE and have witnessed my pay suffering a 25% erosion of the past decade in real terms. Of course, I look at an estate agent or a car salesman, whose professional training can be measured in hours rather than years, earning more than me on a good month and think where the world has come to, but then I look back and I see that neither Archimedes nor Einstein were particularly wealthy and yet their name has outlived them, something that no estate agent has managed to do.
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but then I look back and I see that neither Archimedes nor Einstein were particularly wealthy and yet their name has outlived them, something that no estate agent has managed to do.
At least not in a way that might be used in polite conversation...
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Words of advice from my tame Deliverooist....
Never order chips from Deliveroo.
They are a bunch of poor and hungry cyclists.
You'd notice a chomp out of your pizza.
But chips, not so much...
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They're much more likely to have a 'mechanical issue' and report it as a failed delivery*.
The order is resubmitted and another rider despatched . . .
*Allegedly
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I've been signed up for a couple of months, worked in London (While I was there anyway) Birmingham (On a cheap train ticket) and locally in Derby. I've only worked lunchtimes in London, they were very busy, with some of the drops not worth unlocking the bike for, no need to book, just just log in and work. I'm not acclimatised to London traffic, I know some love it, but it leaves me frazzled. The couple of evenings in Birmingham were OK, 16 orders over 5 hours on the best night, not really worth the hassle and expense of travelling, it's turn up and work which is why I did it. In Derby it's hard to get the hours, they all have to be booked and those who've been at it a while get the pickings. When you do work it's variable, I've done up to 5 orders in an hour but you can sometimes wait 30 min for something. There's occasional bonuses when they're short of riders, you need to be ready to drop everything and go to take advantage of them. I was made redundant a couple of months ago and was considering going part time and using this as a supplement, it'd be fine if I could be sure of 10 steady hours a week at suitable times, but so far that hasn't been the case.
There is a new player, new in Derby at least, that I've just applied for - Stuart. Talking to another rider, they're offering a minimum hourly rate and at present all sorts of bonuses, though I wouldn't expect them to be long term. Locally they seem to be dealing mostly with fast food, so the turnaround is faster than with some Deliveroo collections. That's probably the biggest downside, you can be having a good run on a busy night, then find yourself waiting 20 min at Wagamama...
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Sources tell me 'Stuart' are going to be major players.
Mega Global Big River deliveries.
'When' might be a moot point...
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Slightly OT, does anyone else find it just a bit shit that someone as educated/qualified as Nikki should find herself forced to consider delivering takeaway food as a viable strategy for survival?
Yes. Even more worrying that what they're offering could be even considered as a viable strategy for survival in the absence of an associated long-term career structure (speaking as an ex-motorcycle despatcher of the 80's).
Of course living in a land where fast food is still delivered on company scooters I may be divorced from reality!
Of course as Nikki says fine arts has historically only provided a living through patronage or teaching. Still true when it's supported by governments. Silly when one considers the colossal money spent on advertising projects,which are art dependant!
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but then I look back and I see that neither Archimedes nor Einstein were particularly wealthy and yet their name has outlived them, something that no estate agent has managed to do.
At least not in a way that might be used in polite conversation...
Hotblack Desiato? Admittedly for entirely esatate-agent-unrelated reasons.
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Slightly OT, does anyone else find it just a bit shit that someone as educated/qualified as Nikki should find herself forced to consider delivering takeaway food as a viable strategy for survival?
Yes. Even more worrying that what they're offering could be even considered as a viable strategy for survival in the absence of an associated long-term career structure (speaking as an ex-motorcycle despatcher of the 80's).
Of course living in a land where fast food is still delivered on company scooters I may be divorced from reality!
Of course as Nikki says fine arts has historically only provided a living through patronage or teaching. Still true when it's supported by governments. Silly when one considers the colossal money spent on advertising projects,which are art dependant!
Plenty of fast food is still delivered on company scooters in UK too, particularly pizzas (Domino's, Pizza Hut and various local places). I doubt if their pay structure is significantly different from Deliveroo.
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Competent London based riders seeking work may wish to look at www.pedalme.co.uk over the coming months given the apparent success of their crowdfunding pitch!
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Having spent several days hitting refresh on calendars to book onboarding sessions, I eventually got a message that Deliveroo are not currently taking on new riders in Birmingham. I assume this is also why Uber Eats are not showing any appointment slots in their system.
I filled in the Stuart online application stuff at about midnight last night, and by about 2 o'clock today I was officially signed up. Just waiting for a gert big bag to get delivered to me, and then I'm off.
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I filled in the Stuart online application stuff at about midnight last night, and by about 2 o'clock today I was officially signed up. Just waiting for a gert big bag to get delivered to me, and then I'm off.
I'm also waiting on a Stuart bag, I'll see how it compares with deliveroo (The job, not the bag). I've been delivering today and was talking to a Stuart rider, he'd started an hour after me, done about a third less orders and we were coming out with around the same money. I didn't mind the extra orders, I'd rather be moving than standing around, but at least he knew the minimum he'd earn tonight when I had no idea. As it turned out it was really busy for the first three hours, all simple jobs, no waiting and the collections reasonably close the the previous drop, then it went dead and I had three jobs in the last two hours... All in all I'm quite enjoying it, though I'm hoping not to have to rely on it as a primary source of income for too long.
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I'll see how it compares with deliveroo (The job, not the bag).
I saw a Stuart bag the other day, it's dark blue and looks squashier than the Deliveroo bags. :D Good luck with Stuarting to both of you.
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"Stuart"'s not an autocorrect then? *googles*
Have the silly names run out? ???
(I suppose the rot set in when they called a TV channel 'Dave')
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I'm also waiting on a Stuart bag
They've run out of Stuart bags in this corner of the world, so I'm waiting for a non-squishy Just Eat cube. The foldable Stuart bags do look more appealing, but it'd be good to hear from someone with hands-on experience.
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So will you be riding for Stuart or Just Eat? Or are they the same thing?
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If I understand correctly, Stuart here is currently providing the delivery service for some of the outlets that come under the Just Eat umbrellawhateveritis. There's a lot of layers going on there!
The bag has arrived. It's cunningly lined with strips of the loop side of velcro, which I'm sure will come in useful for holding any spilled chicken katsu curry in place
:-S
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I see. Perhaps. Hope it goes well, anyway.
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Just applied to ride for Deliveroo in Edinburgh. No vacancies at the moment but I'll keep my fingers crossed I get a shout soon. I figured that with the expanding waistline and longer and longer waits between design jobs that it might be quite nice having a bit of motivation to get out there in my down time and earn some beer money in the process.
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I'm also waiting on a Stuart bag, I'll see how it compares with deliveroo (The job, not the bag). I've been delivering today and was talking to a Stuart rider, he'd started an hour after me, done about a third less orders and we were coming out with around the same money. I didn't mind the extra orders, I'd rather be moving than standing around, but at least he knew the minimum he'd earn tonight when I had no idea. As it turned out it was really busy for the first three hours, all simple jobs, no waiting and the collections reasonably close the the previous drop, then it went dead and I had three jobs in the last two hours... All in all I'm quite enjoying it, though I'm hoping not to have to rely on it as a primary source of income for too long.
I looked at Stuart in Northampton. Stuart hasn't got to Milton Keynes where I live.
I wasn't sure if Stuart paid your mileage from collection to drop off or from wherever you are to collection, to drop off. The former made it seem no better than Deliveroo and not really worth being busy doing a lot of orders per hour because you wouldn't get much more than the minimum guarantee. But what you say looks like it's the latter and around one and a half time what you could earn with Deliveroo.
For me, I would have to travel to and from Northampton, which would be about 2-2.5 hours riding and instead of riding to and from Northampton, I could earn around £20-30 doing Deliveroo in that time so I'd be £20-30 better off before I even started doing Stuart in Northampton. In fact, that alone, every day of a 5 day working week would be enough for me to live on, just.
If it does come to Milton Keynes I probably will join Stuart because if there are no orders I can get paid to just be at home.
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I see. Perhaps. Hope it goes well, anyway.
Thanks! :thumbsup:
[tl;dr: it didn't] :(
Having received a comedically large bag (which was to prompt a few different passers-by to tell me how heavy it must be), I drove over to Stourbridge where Stuart have just got started with a new zone. An extra £2 on each drop and it was nice and sunny, so I thought I'd make a day of it.
Phone screeched as soon as I logged on, so I made my way from where I had parked the car to the first collection point, narrowly avoiding getting stuck in a hedge in the process... ::-)
Turns out this first drop was just a test that didn't get cancelled, so I had to faff around with online chat rider support to get them to cancel it so I could move on.
I'd planned the day so I could do a non-commital hour or two to get the measure of things, then sign up for a slot (all the commitment, but also gets you a guaranteed minimum £7.50 per hour) or two as mojo/weather allowed. Car was parked up in the zone, so I could use that as a base if needed.
No other drops by the time the first slot came along, so I signed up for the 1:30-4pm slot so I'd at least get the £7.50 p/h before evening orders started coming in. Sitting on a bench by the ring road was fine whilst the sun was out, but then it got a bit chilly so I pootled back to the car and a book. I checked my phone at intervals, but it seems that, after lulling me into a false sense of security, the app then logged me out without any warning. I'm currently being ignored by rider support, but it's probably safe to assume I won't get paid for that slot. I *did* get paid something for the non-cancelled cancelled order, so I might just have broken even on the petrol >:(
First impressions of the Stuart platform is that it's pretty shonky: the support docs are all over the place and sometimes contradictory; the live chat system is really awkward to get to; changing your bank details requires the magic numbers to be relayed through at least two different people, starting with the online chat; I'm getting notifications flash up in the top tray area of my phone screen, but the full messages are nowhere to be found to be able to read the whole thing; and I have Strong Opinions about silent failure modes.
You won't be surprised to hear I didn't stick around for the evening shift...
Minor highlight of the day: a yoof wheelie-ing along the Lye bypass.
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That's a shame. Are you going to give them another try when you've got a few rider support things sorted out?
FWIW my experiences of what would now be called "rider support" from motorbike couriering way back in the early 90s: I worked for one company that used two-way radios, which was fine except they didn't give us earphones or mikes. The radio was clipped to our jackets and we had to stop, de-helmet and just talk into it (you could talk through your helmet but it got a bit garbled), so in practice it was rather cumbersome. Later I worked for another firm that used pagers. When the pager bleeped, you stopped and found a phone box or used a client's phone (most were fine about this) to call base. This sounds crap but actually worked better than radios. This was all before mobiles and way before smartphones or even the internet. Big difference though was that I was working for companies with identifiable people in charge, who I saw and spoke to everyday. Money was crap even then but I had fun doing it!
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Are you going to give them another try when you've got a few rider support things sorted out?
Yeah, but the app's a liability until I can figure out why it logged itself out. Think I'll be staying away from booked slots for now.
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Stuart are having tech problems at the moment. It may not just be you. My pal tells me that quite a few of the Leeds riders lost shift payments this weekend.
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Getting logged out is a hazard with Deliveroo too. I had that once or twice. Not sure if I did it by accident or not. It's OK when you're in the zone for logging in but if you're outside that zone, you have to go back there before you can log in (with Uber Eats you just log on or off at will regardless of where you are)
The Deliveroo app did have a problem a few weeks ago and wasn't taking any orders but Deliveroo paid everyone for 3 orders per hour (average fee) for the time they had the problem, which was a bonus for me because I wasn't getting very much at the time anyway.
I've cut back on Deliveroo for now because the orders dropped off and I have enough to pay the bills etc. It has picked up a bit on Friday and Saturday but Sunday was pretty bad, so I'll do more Uber Eats so at least if it is slow, I can log off without any ratings penalty. Plus although the Uber promotions have gone down, I still get more money from an Uber delivery, though that seems fair because it's almost always a Mc Donalds.
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A You Tube from Joseph Kendrik doing a 24hr Uber Eats shift in London.
Joseph also cycled around the coast of Australia on fixed wheel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwCUl26SHhI
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I see. Perhaps. Hope it goes well, anyway.
Thanks! :thumbsup:
[tl;dr: it didn't] :(
Sorry your first session didn't go well, my first deliveroo one was a disaster though that was down to my incompetence...
I've been carded for my Stuart bag, it's a 25 mile ride to collect it and I'm not sure I'm going to bother. The local Stuart riders who started out enthusing about it are doing less of that now, it seems hard to earn beyond the minimum fee. In the meantime I'm doing OK with deliveroo, around £10 @ hr averaged over the last 50, which as £1 @ hr better than the previous 50. I've now got the stats to make priority booking so can pick and choose my hours. There's more of a learning curve to it than I thought, knowing which orders to accept or reject and when to do so can make a significant difference to earnings, the most experienced local riders are averaging £12 @ hr, so I've a way to go yet. All in all I'm quite enjoying it, some of the proper jobs I've been applying for are looking less appealing. Locally there's quite a nice community of riders and some of the restaurants are nice to deal with, I've also done well for free food, two cancelled orders and from places near closing time ;) The rumours of dodgy breakdowns to keep the orders and pinching food seem unfounded, it'd be easier to just do an extra delivery and buy your own.
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One of my lads does it in Inverness, to fit around his uni course. Can choose 'shifts' and what deliverie he does. Seems happy with his lot.
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Sorry your first session didn't go well, my first deliveroo one was a disaster though that was down to my incompetence...
I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity for that on my second session!
I've been carded for my Stuart bag, it's a 25 mile ride to collect it and I'm not sure I'm going to bother.
I got mine yesterday. Haven't ridden with it yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll be a big improvement over the rigid box.
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gZVLwW_R9OHFxPcR9n5Sn3SwN_L2A82ASzmtL9enO5pOPhfbYBcQSnMa2WdKYoU58r2vfGCpVDD3qWYahFxqcoGD70CNgjKkcd464350TTcYBZNX8odVUhWLjZculh-KJTawy63pKvTTCdhr-JPGQn47dMWfVCfOEGeyQcUiSaH-mlc_jMiOmNoJx2UP9jPdqbtyTSJr_VG1SrGNKtRKEvaiFBCw5GP8bu2bmRHKuy9sP8A6KQwhe4gFfKRQ5_ZPZCJcD-_A2n_hXhy3BJR0EwclEdYc6YZLYSr2NJ0YjYfYxlf95rR3LuNHI7e6v3nMhIES0yotGV_Os3zapQ8LLpfdaGkY0dziN_bjWLNDPNKXyLaELBMivs0CVYVWelfHXwQPhxV13WPSCpfM-er-QNTn3fClM6VonwM1mlWV3x0d6jajbrt1UamAS1zLdv8Cd3SISpPgnJTaLhMBUwkb7iV1_hY-DF7zjJiWam5Hk6JE64KWV9yEkNg_d86SX4r4BAH9zl7Fd0TgMW3xxx1Ttz-j764P6VCGADXIN0Uw7Ewyl-E8NjHsgwq8jL0U2KB5K9yC7a7l5t3mSsv8lKc2gY6Z_o-oBX6Z6xldBP50j4Urf2iV9xrOKZQvA-AsSMzOqBJCBRhzOFnMqDNBvXSdVaWV=w1014-h760-no)
Big pockets on the side (I assume for drinks); a little zipped pocket on the back, probably good for wallet and keys; a little loop for a rear light; and option to snug it up and make it much more compact. :thumbsup:
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Got my onboarding session with Deliveroo on Wednesday. :thumbsup: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the free kit includes the updated rolltop bag that they came out with recently and not the big rigid box. New one looks like it'll be a bit easier to mange.
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Just seen my first Stuart rider here in Liverpool.
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Got my onboarding session with Deliveroo on Wednesday. :thumbsup: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the free kit includes the updated rolltop bag that they came out with recently and not the big rigid box. New one looks like it'll be a bit easier to mange.
I have both, deliveroo gave me the bag and someone no longer using it gave me their box. The bag is loads better, comfier and about half the weight.
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This might be interesting (I haven't read it yet): survey of 2,500 Deliveroo riders.
https://foodscene.deliveroo.co.uk/food-trends/public-first-survery.html
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Competent London based riders seeking work may wish to look at www.pedalme.co.uk over the coming months given the apparent success of their crowdfunding pitch!
I met Ben, the guy who runs this, the other day. He told me that one of his aims is to create 'proper jobs'. So it might not actually work for a lot of people who want flexibility, etc. His riders are employed and paid above minimum wage level with a success element, and they get use of the company vehicle when they are not working. They also get quite a bit of training.
He particularly likes to employ bike racers (he's an ex-2nd cat racer) as they have good bike handling skills and can get around the city far quicker than the average person. He even swaps out the handlebars so that they enable a more aero position!
They are small but growing. On the back of the crowdfunding investment to date they have been able to order 12 more bikes on top of the 11 they already had, and are hoping for more investment so they can order a bunch more.
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Bristol’s Deliveroo drivers went on strike in 2017 and succeeded in winning better conditions for trainer riders (who train up novice riders), the appointment of a health and safety rep, and the right not to wear the official uniform.
Ex-Branch Secretary Maff Tucker explains: “When we said ‘do you realise you are amongst the most exploited labour in Europe’ it really hit home with them. We went through things like methods for controlling meetings with the boss, making sure that you get your points across, and we supported them. But the riders managed to secure it for themselves.”
https://www.bristol247.com/spark/community/delivery-riders-world-unite/
(The article's actually more about the union than the riders.)
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Deliveroo riders on strike in Bristol (mopedists at least, not many cyclists in this protest):
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/city-comes-standstill-deliveroo-riders-2328918
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Good luck to those in Bristol campaigning for better terms, I can't see it happening for two reasons:
1) Supply and demand, locally at least, the big issue for local riders (Myself included) is getting enough booked hours. The rates are secondary to that.
2) The High Court ruled earlier this month that workers are self employed and not entitled to have their union recognised.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/05/deliveroo-riders-lose-high-court-battle-gain-union-recognition
I'm currently working both Deliveroo and Stuart, they operate in slightly different ways. I can earn a slightly higher rate with Stuart, but getting hours is very competitive, to rely on it you need to be at their beck and call and be prepared to work at short notice. The minimum guarantee and bonuses are there to keep workers in line, although they offer some predictability they make the role less flexible. Deliveroo is in many ways a bit more like being self employed, hours are easier to book, though the more you do the earlier you get access. With a simple fee per drop you're free accept or reject orders without any impact other than your earnings. It's very variable, usually due to how many riders are working, what's good for the rider is bad for the company and vice versa.
I've spent most of my working life self employed and with all of it, if I counted all the hours it'd work out a very poor rate. Same with this really, if I do a five hour shift and it's constant orders the rate is comparable to many non skilled jobs, if it's quiet and I don't get enough orders then I won't earn 5 X min wage, but then I wouldn't have worked 5 hours - the ideal is to find something worth doing with the down time, like go for a bike ride :D
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Have now been deliverooing in the capital for 3 months. It's terrific. A couple of traffic related scrapes but nothing I wasn't encountering during my normal cycling anyway. Money is good, flexibility is unbelievable. This is one of the smartest things I ever started doing.
Chatting with some of the other cycle guys there's heaps of us who are actually full time employee and are deliverooing to save for holidays, new bikes, etc.
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I'm absolutely loving it too. It's so much fun. Only managing a few 3 hour shifts a week at the moment due to lack of fitness, and the 12 mile round trip into town and home again eats into the mileage/time I can manage. But considering I got into this for a bit of fun and some beer money I'm chuffed to bits I've already made enough to buy a new bike (Triban RC500, picked up last week). And it'll be tax deductable :thumbsup:
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Good to hear people are enjoying this and getting decent money.
A question - have any of you felt the need/urge to go through more red lights than you would do normally, because you are on the clock?
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There is one set of lights I jump only because it's one of those that only seems to change if there is a car waiting and I'd be there all night if I didn't. But all it takes to ruin a shift is a restaurant that takes ages with an order or a customer who puts the pin on the map in the wrong place so it seems silly to me to try and save 30 seconds by breaking the law or riding like an ass, so in general I don't.
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I do jump lights quite often but this is when commuting/a to b'ing and deliverooing only just because I want to be somewhere and I'm almost always in a familiar environment (deliveroo teaches your patch very well and you're wise to which crossings can be skipped safely).
During training, audaxes, and on tour I'll wait for the lights.
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It's been pretty grim riding for Stuart in Birmingham. The city centre is utterly broken with one or two routes holding the whole thing together in the face of road closures, gridlock, tramlines and the 'kin Christmas market. The lack of any decent cycle infrastructure is painfully obvious and I'm frequently having cars, taxis and buses driven at me. I've also been hit on the head by a passing pedestrian.
There's no density to the location of the restaurants or the punters, so mean turnaround time per drop is consistently coming out as about 40 minutes. This means the only way to get a double figure hourly rate is to do weekend evenings to get the extra rewards.
A question - have any of you felt the need/urge to go through more red lights than you would do normally, because you are on the clock?
I'm with kyuss - there's no significant time saving from jumping lights. I've always figured I lose my right to rant at others who break the law if I'm doing it myself. I'm in control of a vehicle on the road, therefore the laws of the road apply to me. Of course, it only takes a second or two to switch to pedestrian mode, and that can be useful sometimes...
I'm pavement cycling more than I would otherwise, out of decisions based on trying to stay safe. At 10pm there often aren't many pedestrians around, but the roads can still be bedlam (or gridlocked), so there's not a lot of conflict there. I'm also filtering more, again because of the gridlock. Did I mention Birmingham's broken?
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Did I mention Birmingham's broken?
It's okay, I may also have mentioned that recently in another thread.
I'm fairly filtering-averse at the best of times, but I really don't like having to do it in central Birmingham, especially in Christmas Lemmings season. I had a moment with an not-entirely-unexpected passenger door on Hill Street a few weeks ago to remind me why I don't like it.
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There's no density to the location of the restaurants or the punters, so mean turnaround time per drop is consistently coming out as about 40 minutes. This means the only way to get a double figure hourly rate is to do weekend evenings to get the extra rewards.
Are you on a free log in or booked hours with a top up? In Derby most orders are 15 min plus the restaurant wait, there just isn't enough work, I'm averaging 1.2 orders an hour. With the top up and various bonuses it's still a quid an hour more than the local deliveroo (Average based on 50 hours of each). The Deliveroo is very variable, I try and get five hour shifts, 6pm - 11pm and have made from £26 to £68
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There's no density to the location of the restaurants or the punters, so mean turnaround time per drop is consistently coming out as about 40 minutes. This means the only way to get a double figure hourly rate is to do weekend evenings to get the extra rewards.
Are you on a free log in or booked hours with a top up?
Just turning up - my one experience with a booked slot was a complete omnishambles.
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I prefer my booked spot to working in the open zones, generally the trips are short from a takeaway to a residential home with no fannying around with security etc.
That's the bane of my life when rooing in town, arguing with jobsworth dickheads about bringing a bike inside their poxy lobby for literally 20 seconds just because they're spiteful that I'm making more wedge than them.
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My reliance on delivery income comes to an end this week with a new job starting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a more reliable income but shall miss the freedom of not working when I find something better to do. Just looking at the stats - 4 months, 492 hours, £4,433 with about £280 in claimable expenses (Including a cheap hybrid). It's been very variable, I've done a few 5 hour evenings for under £30 and a few 10 hour £100+ days. Christmas week was dire, then the week after my best. I know it varies depending on the area, but in Derby it's a tough way to make a living, but an easy way to make a few extra quid, which is what I shall continue doing.
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A question - have any of you felt the need/urge to go through more red lights than you would do normally, because you are on the clock?
I don't think it's about being on the clock, it's long hours of urban riding and minimising effort becomes very attractive. So yes, loads more riding through red lights and along pavements than I've ever done before. Left turns against red lights and through pedestrian crossing when there's no pedestrians have become the norm, I've also got to know the area a lot better than before and there's a few streets where riding on the footway the wrong way along a one-way street saves a detour. OTOH on a Fri/Sat night with lots of groups around, I'll walk my bike along a shopping street where cycling is permitted after 5pm.
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I don't think it's about being on the clock, it's long hours of urban riding and minimising effort becomes very attractive. So yes, loads more riding through red lights and along pavements than I've ever done before. Left turns against red lights and through pedestrian crossing when there's no pedestrians have become the norm, I've also got to know the area a lot better than before and there's a few streets where riding on the footway the wrong way along a one-way street saves a detour. OTOH on a Fri/Sat night with lots of groups around, I'll walk my bike along a shopping street where cycling is permitted after 5pm.
That's just normal Amsterdam cycling...
J
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From next week deliveroo are prioritising motor vehicles in all UK cities and towns except London and Bristol. Already the app has a new class of statistics "vehicle priority - Using a more efficient vehicle gives you earlier booking access"
In Derby (The city I have most experience working in) it's already difficult to keep your statistics high enough to get early access to the booking slots. If the cyclists don't get access till the scooters and cars have booked what they want, it'll be the end of doing it by bike.
It's been a while since I did any deliveroo, I can get the hours I want from Stuart/Just Eat who pay a bit better, but I can't see that lasting when those unable to get deliveroo work start competing for them. Bugger :(
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/07/04/deliveroo-moves-from-muscles-to-motors/#44fbe9506add
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Can't you just tell the app you're on a moped and ride a bit slower?
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Can't you just tell the app you're on a moped and ride a bit slower?
Ha! I'm sure there are those who'll try, but it's complicated and you have to have courier insurance. Also the maximum distances are longer, can't remember deliveroo's but on Stuart bikes are 4 miles and scooters 8. While I'd happily race my average 1.7 mile drop and expect to at least equal a scooter and beat a car, once out of town there's no chance. There's plenty using motors and registered as cycles, avoiding the insurance and the longer drops, getting rid of these would be no bad thing.
They're not permitting e-bikes to change class, it's been asked. Some riders have made considerable investments in them and they'll now struggle to make them pay.
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Do they actually check courier insurance for the scooters? If so, that in itself is a big improvement since I was motorcycle couriering (admittedly that's last millennium).
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Do they actually check courier insurance for the scooters? If so, that in itself is a big improvement since I was motorcycle couriering (admittedly that's last millennium).
Yes - they can offer it on a pay per day or pay per drop basis, which I think is the default and you have to supply details of your vehicle. Or, you can demonstrate you have your own.
A lot of those you'll see on scooters and in cars are uninsured and registered as cycles to avoid paying, I've never heard of checks on the vehicle type registered, though they could easily look at the tracking and see who wasn't on a bike.
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This thread is bringing back lots of memories of working as a bike courier for Pony Express in Glasgow. I was the city's first in 1990! The gig economy before the term had been invented, £1 a drop (£1.20 outside the city centre). Best day was when the usual controller was on holiday and the manager took over, she thought I was a motorbike, made almost £50 that day and by the end of the summer all the small motorbikes were gone...I'd done all the pick-ups and drops quicker than the motorbikes. When the big bikes and vans were on holiday you could also pick up jobs to Edinburgh, Greenock etc. by hoping on the train.
Did it six months every year while at Uni and for a year on and off when I graduated but it got harder to make money each year, more riders, fewer jobs. There was one rider who soldiered on until the late nineties but bike couriers were extinct in Glasgow until Deliveroo etc. came along. I only ever got one tip, £5 from Donald Finlay QC when I delivered something to him in the High Court. I rode red Muddy Fox MTB with the optional drop bars that I bought with my first student loan, happy days!