BetterProcess.ca » 5-kilometer zones for Uber Eats drivers

Description of the challenges (long distances and paired orders).

I believe that the process of earning money for Uber Eats drivers is not optimized. This is because the Uber Eats computer algorithm most likely does not take into account the territorial specifics of cities. For example, Calgary is quite sprawling (around 50 km from one endpoint of the city to another).

I spent several days delivering orders, accepting absolutely everything that came in. That's why sometimes I finished my work 40 kilometers from my home. Of course, no one compensated me for fuel and car depreciation ($12 per 40 km for my Dodge Grand Caravan 2010) to get me back home. This is the first problem, which we will call the “driver's challenge”. The second problem associated with long distances and paired orders is delivery time (traffic jams, wandering, cooking). Delivery time is critical for the Uber Eat service, so let's call it the “Uber Eats challenge”. Yesterday I had a situation when I received one order and after a while the second paired order (orders for two different customers, the distance between which was more than 10 km). First, I spent 10 minutes because I couldn't find a place to pick up the first order, and then I waited an additional 15 minutes in the restaurant until the second order was ready. After that, I had to drive 15km to the first customer's house and another 10km to the second. As a result, there was a long delivery time to both customers and I ended up on the outskirts of Calgary, where there are no cafes and no chance of getting the next order.

My approach

My experience, how to make money with Uber Eats more efficiently with the current processes (with long distances and paired orders).

1. Choose a starting point not far from home (you will always return there after completing a food delivery order). It is desirable that there are popular chain restaurants (McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Jollibee, etc.) near or within two kilometers of this point.

2. Arrive at the starting point and turn on the “online” mode.

3. When you receive orders, you ruthlessly cut off all incorrect orders (with a distance of more than 5 km). At the same time, you do not pay attention to the order amount, because there is a concept of a minimum order and a very likely tip due to fast delivery.

4. Think of something useful to do while waiting for your order (read a book, listen to a podcast, take an English lesson at Duolingo, etc.) By the way, I wrote this article while waiting for the right orders.

5. After accepting the correct order (distance no more than 5km), turn off the “online” mode so that you do not receive other orders (including paired orders)

6. After delivering the order and returning to the starting point, you turn on the online mode again.

Please note that if you don't go offline after accepting an order and the next order arrives while you're driving, it's difficult to decide whether to accept it for two reasons:

1) the road situation keeps you in tension/maximum concentration

2) limited time to make a decision, the green color of the notification and the magical sound seem to ask you to click and confirm the order :)

3) because of this, you can automatically accept an order that will send you to the outskirts of the city or take you far away from your starting point.

My idea for a new process for Uber Eats drivers

“5-kilometer zones for Uber Eats drivers”

So, I would advise Uber to refine the current process (and I would be happy to help with this for free in my free time) in order to use drivers geographically close to their homes (within a 5 km radius). And longer distances (over 5 km, including the outskirts of the city) should be given to those drivers who live closest to the delivery point and compensate the return to the starting point.

In addition, since Uber has data on the car model of each driver in the system, it is not difficult for the computer algorithm to take into account the consumption, and for long-distance orders, other things being equal, give priority to cars with lower fuel consumption (then the delivery price will not increase too much for the customer).

Benefits

The benefits of implementation of 5-kilometer zones for Uber Eats drivers.

Benefits for UBER:

1. Always the fastest delivery time. The customer is satisfied and will choose Uber Eats again next time when they are hungry.

2. Better awareness of drivers of the specifics of cooperation with the same restaurants.

3. Drivers have better knowledge of the specifics of the roads in their delivery area (choosing the best delivery route than the navigator offers).

4. Drivers' satisfaction with cooperation with Uber Eats and recommendation of this company to others as an effective way to earn extra money.

Benefits for drivers:

1. Better earnings (more tips from customers satisfied with fast delivery).

2. Proximity to home (the opportunity to eat or get the other things done).

3. Saving car resources and nature (no need to drive extra kilometers unnecessarily, polluting the air).

4. The ability to spend time waiting for the correct order more efficiently within your zone (read a book, listen to a podcast).

Thank you for your time of reading this. If I've overlooked something, please share your experience with food delivery in the comments. Peace be with you.

If you would like to comment on the idea, please visit this page:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-kilometer-zones-uber-eats-drivers