“In five years, I've been in around 10 to 12 accidents – some major, some minor,” one delivery rider in Sydney told The Feed.
“The less we get paid, the more we have to rush through traffic and it causes severe safety issues.”
Two delivery riders have died on the job in outer Sydney areas since July, and unions have demanded urgent reforms to protect gig economy workers.
The latest fatalities mean 13 riders have died while on the job since 2017 – in just two months in late 2020. The Australian Council of Trade Unions told The Guardian that nine of the deaths have been riders for UberEats, which has the largest share of the food delivery market. The Transport Workers Union said underreporting of these incidents as workplace deaths indicates the death toll is likely much higher.
But the popularity of food deliveries continues. According to Roy Morgan research, Uber Eats is used by one in six Australians.
Even though safety is a priority, it's still an issue
We spoke to four delivery riders along one of Sydney’s most popular restaurant strips. None of them had heard about the recent delivery rider deaths. But almost all had been in accidents themselves.
Their reviews of the job were mixed – riders who had been delivering in the short term were relatively happy with the gig work, and felt the roads and conditions in Australia were good in comparison to countries such as Italy, for example.
Others who had been delivering long-term were more frustrated – from the government, minimum pay, and charges to restaurants to compensate them for long waits on orders.
We contacted Menulog and Uber, and each company stressed that safety of riders is the top priority. Each company provides safety gear, insurance cover, and in-built app features to encourage safe riding (such as weather notifications, helmet checks, texting blocks, two-way incident communication features, and more). Both companies provide ongoing an updated educational materials to riders about road rules and safety.
Neither organisation confirmed how much they paid riders per kilometre.
Australians are big food delivery fans
Delivery riders are considered independent contractors, and are not entitled to minimum pay, sick leave or annual leave (though UberEats and Menulog provide income accident insurance). This also means that riders do not get paid while waiting for orders to arise, even if they are online.
The federal government has proposed changes to the gig economy, planning to give the Fair Work Commission the ability to set minimum standards for gig workers and ‘employee-like’ forms of work.
So how do people on the job feel?
Here’s what the riders told us. (Names have been withheld for privacy.)
This delivery rider felt Uber should increase the pay to delivery riders rather than spending large sums on celebrity advertisement deals. Credit: Edwina Storie
'Pay us more and we’ll ride safer'
Rider One
Time on the job: Four years
I've delivered more than 40,000 orders. [The job] is not that safe.
was a good company. Menulog is the good company in Australia for the drivers. Uber is very bad. It's the worst. They pay like $2 or $3 (per kilometre), and they spend millions of dollars for advertisements getting the Hollywood actors (for promotions).
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.
First [responsible for accidents] is the company, the second is the restaurant. The company – they pay less – and the restaurants, they let us wait for long, long times. [Waiting] 15, 20 minutes [for an order] – we're going to make $5. That's why we have to rush. The companies should start charging the restaurants if they let us wait more than 15 minutes or 10 minutes.
But I think the government should step in and bring some reforms in this industry.
I got [my white card to work in construction] yesterday."
If you decrease the pay, we try to rush – that's how accidents happen.
This delivery rider felt the safety of Australia's roads and rules were sufficient, as long as the rules were obeyed. Credit: The Feed
'Follow the rules, you will be safe'
Rider Two
Time on the job: Three years
"It depends on kilometres how much [I can make] — sometimes $5 per trip or sometimes an average $7, $8 per trip. I can get two to three trips in peak time.
In Sydney [and] all over, you can [deliver safely] at night. No problem anywhere. Everything is good.
Sometimes [with the] rain, [it is] slippery for bikes, but it's absolutely safe here. If you look and signal properly, and you follow the rules, you will be safe.
Last year I had [a crash] but it's due to the rain. But nothing happened to me, I pulled over and everything's safe."
This man had been working in the food delivery industry for five years "on and off". He says the delivery companies are paying less than they once were. Credit: The Feed
'I can barely survive'
Rider Three
Time on the job: Five years on and off
"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. There's two [reasons] – firstly, there are plenty of drivers in the game, now.
And things have gone expensive, so people are looking for alternative options to get some money. So a lot of local people are joining [as new riders].
Before, it was only international students. The other thing is delivery platforms – they have been giving less and less money. Those two reasons has led to pay decrease.
"I've lost about $300 to $500 a week."
[The job is] good – I don't have a boss over me. I pick up delivery, and I drop it off, and I get paid for that. But the real issue is I get into accidents – plenty of road rage incidents, and crazy weather conditions. In over five years, I've been in around 10 to 12 accidents – some major, some minor.
I've lost about $300 to $500 a week.
These [safety] jackets — we started wearing in the last three months — and that's it. That's it. This is good. It's not bad. But apart from this, I don't think they can help us. Because the real issue is drivers – they don't see motorcycles and bikes.
They don't even consider [that a rider] could be beside them. And they just hit or smash into us. Especially in rainy conditions. There’s fog inside [the helmet visor] and water droplets outside [the visor]. It's very, very bad.
"Every time it rains one of my friends gets into an accident."
Every time it rains one of my friends get into an accident.
While having had one road accident in nine months of working, this delivery rider enjoyed the work. Credit: The Feed
'In the rainy season it's really slippery'
Driver Four
Time on the job: Nine months
"In an hour we [can] deliver maximum four orders, and for that, we [earn] maximum $20.
If I have a mood to go and deliver, then I'll deliver. And if I feel tired, I’ll skip the whole day.
On a bike [the safety is] not really good, because in the rainy season, it's really slippery. I [have] had a little accident. I just [fell] on one knee in the rainy season.
In an hour we [can] deliver maximum four orders, and for that, we [earn] maximum $20.
Maybe all [bike and scooter] riders [should] have to wear the high [visibility] vests – because it's compulsory for all [delivery] riders, especially on [a] bike. And maybe some [changes to the] the traffic rules. Yeah, but the traffic rules is also good [in Australia].
