🚴 Riding with Deliveroo - My experience after ~ 2 months!

Being a University Student, I drink a lot - and my student loan doesn't even cover my accommodation so my 'Beer Money' has to come out of my own pocket. After a year and a couple of months of heavy drinking at Uni, my balance started running dry so I decided to start Riding for Deliveroo.

Here's a little article about my experience after almost 2 months;

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If you don't know what Deliveroo is - it's basically a platform which gives people who own a bike, the ability to deliver a restaurant's food to their hungry customers. We are paid per delivery, and then occasionally get the odd tip from customers to buffer up our earnings. Deliveroo is widely accused of being unethical and a bad company, but most accusations come from people who have never ridden for Deliveroo, and are quick to jump on a bandwagon.

The whole concept of delivering food at any time automatically means some shifts (for example 3-5 PM) are stupid to work as you won't get customers, and others (for example 7-9 PM) are awesome because as soon as you finish one order your phone will start to buzz and you'll immediately have another to do. Many people against Deliveroo think that pay should be hourly and even if a rider is sat around doing nothing for their whole shift, they should be paid around £10 each hour.

I usually make around £14 per hour by booking myself into sensible shifts (e.g. lunch times on weekdays/evenings on weekends), and on one occasion I was able to make £22 per hour. The alternate pay package which those against Deliveroo suggest, would see me making on average around £9 per hour - and because I usually only work during peak times and not for a whole day, it might make it unfeasible for me to deliver.

We're also given access to a Private Perk mobile app which enables us to get free Coffees at Cafe Nero, and reasonable discounts and multiple big retail brands.

If you're against Deliveroo, and their mechanics for offering flexibility to riders then I urge you to reconsider - the job is brilliant for a bit of extra cash, but if you're working it full time you're not applying any common sense to it. I make far more than minimum wage, and considering I'm basically getting paid for doing 3 hours of Cross-Training (i.e. fitness training through cycling opposed to running) it is brilliant!

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The 'Application' Process:

Again, because you're completely Self-Employed, the Application Process is rather straightforward. You supply a few details to Deliveroo, complete an online safety course (takes around 30 minutes, but you can just skip through the videos and it won't take long), and then collect your kit and supply ID documents (passport, license, etc.) and then you're good to go.

The only downside of this is the kit; you have to fork out £100 (taken off your pay in 50% installments) for their two insulated bags, and their hyper-reflective jacket. You can buy second-hand on eBay, and I'd certainly recommend that as you'd save around £50.

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The 'App':

So, once you're all signed up, they'll give you access to their app and you'll immediately be able to book yourself in...

Most Cities with Deliveroo have a booking system - meaning that you can't exactly go and start delivering whenever you want, as you have to book yourself in to do so before starting. These will come available at 3:00 PM or a Monday, or 11:00 AM if you have good statistics (e.g. good attendance, and good peak attendance, and no late cancellations) - but there's almost always an open session within 2 or so hours if you look at any time.

Also, when there aren't many riders booked on to a certain session to work - usually when it's snowing/raining/hailing and really cold, then they'll offer you surge prices (e.g. £5+ for delivery for 5 hours or so). During these, you can make an absolute killing as long as you're up for cycling about in the rubbish conditions.

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Referrals:

If you live in the UK and you're interested, sign-up with the following and you'll get £50 after 20 orders absolutely free! I find the work really rewarding, and so easy just to get some extra cash on the side. Look past the misconceptions about Deliveroo and go for it!

https://roo.it/HA152731

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My Chosen Weapon:

I ride on a Scott Speedster s50, but have a yellow handlebar tape job - other than that it's exactly like the one pictured above.

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Keep posted for more articles!