To those of you who want to start food delivery as a side job! letter half( ˶'ᵕ'˶)

Hello, this is Ham. This is the latter part of my report on working part-time with Uber Eats. Please take it as a reference.

For the first part about account registration and delivery preparation, please refer to this [link].

**Making Actual Deliveries**

Once you’re ready, it’s time to start delivering. I remember being very nervous during my first delivery. Not only delivering to customers’ homes but also picking up items from restaurants (pickup) was a concern. How should I handle it? Would I inconvenience the restaurants?

First, log in to the Uber Eats app. Address the delivery checklist items (such as vehicle checks). Once the checks are complete, you wait for a notification called a “delivery request” to pop up in the app. Typically, orders are placed at restaurants, and then nearby delivery personnel get the requests. The app displays the time it will take to reach the restaurant and basic information about the delivery location (expected earnings). You’re not obligated to accept every request, so you can wait for better earnings or convenient timings. As I got used to it, I understood my average earnings per delivery and became more selective to deliver more efficiently.

One key point is that while Uber Eats’ payment is essentially for the work from picking up the item to delivering it to the customer, to efficiently earn, you often have to return to downtown areas or areas with high delivery demand after completing a delivery. The most painful part for me was this return time. Especially returning to downtown areas, where no payment is made for the time spent traveling, and if you're on a bicycle, the elevation changes can be quite exhausting. Previously, moving distances would add bonuses, but that has been revised, and the benefits are almost gone now. You might see introductions saying that income has increased by 200,000 to 300,000 yen with Uber Eats, but I think those are mainly active in downtown areas or business districts during weekdays. Considering this, areas far from downtown with more suburban deliveries might be better suited for motorcycle delivery.

A side note: One memory with Uber Eats includes instances where a customer cancels after I’ve picked up an item from a restaurant. In such cases, you get paid even if you don’t complete the delivery to the customer. And the food needs to be disposed of by the delivery person (you can guess how).

**About Earnings**

This is probably what you’re most curious about. I often delivered around Ikebukuro in Toshima Ward. As a side note, many of my deliveries were to Nakano, Mejiro, and Nerima areas from Ikebukuro restaurants, and these areas have steep gradients not recommended for bicycle delivery.

Earnings were generally about 300 to 400 yen per delivery. Researching current rates, it seems the minimum now is about 300 yen, so my earnings were mostly at this minimum. Perhaps it was also because there were many delivery people during the pandemic, but it felt quite challenging even in Ikebukuro.

Of course, apart from the above delivery earnings, there are also incentives called quests that depend on delivery performance and conditions. There are also quests that occur depending on the weather, like on rainy days. Since people prefer not to go out in the rain, it’s a high-demand time for deliveries. These can also motivate you to keep delivering.

**Summary**

So, based on my experience, I’ve introduced Uber Eats. Honestly, it seems like I wasn’t very compatible with Uber Eats as a side job, and I haven’t continued it consistently. It might be perfect for those who want to earn a bit in their spare time or earn money while exercising, but it seems quite challenging to make 10,000 to 20,000 yen per month as a side job. As I wrote in the previous article, my experience was with bicycle delivery, so it might be different with motorcycles, or vary depending on the delivery area, so please do some research in that regard. One of Uber Eats’ advantages is that it’s easy to start, so trying it out for a day might be the best approach.