What is Uber Eats?
Uber Eats is a food ordering app. Through their platform, they offer a delivery service that connects users with local restaurants.
What do Uber Eats delivery drivers do?
As a delivery driver, you will receive orders from users, pick up the food from restaurants, and deliver it to them. Uber Eats allows you to deliver & earn on your schedule + keep 100% of your tips.
How to work for Uber Eats?
Let’s go over the general requirements first:
- Must be 19 or older (18 if delivering by bike)
- Have a mode of transportation (car, scooter, or bicycle)
- Provide your driver’s license number
- Provide your social security number (in US)
- Consent to and pass a background check (includes Motor Vehicle Report if driving a vehicle and Criminal History Report)
- No prior work experience needed
If delivering by car:
- Must have a 2-door or 4-door car
- Proof of car insurance, and vehicle registration
- Car must be no older than 20 year olds
If delivering by scooter:
- Must be a motorized scooter under 50cc
- Scooter must be no older than 20 year olds
Step 1: Sign Up
To begin the application process, you can click here.
First, Uber Eats will ask you to enter your email. You will then enter your name, phone number, city and create a password to make an account.
Already a driver on the Uber platform? If you’re already a driver, you won’t have to sign-up again. You can simply go to the Driver app menu. Then select Account > Work Hub > Deliver food with Uber Eats. Accept their delivery terms and then you’ll be ready to start receiving delivery requests.
Step 2: Select Mode of Transportation
Next you will enter whether you’ll be delivering with a car, scooter, or bicycle. If you choose car, you will enter your vehicle information including make, model, year, and color.
Don’t have a car? We’ve partnered with HyreCar to offer you rental cars that are available for daily, weekly or monthly rentals. You’ll get a $75 bonus for your first 3-day booking.
Step 3: Background Check
In order to become an Uber Eats delivery person, you will need to consent to a free background check. This requires that you submit your social security number and birthdate. You will need to pass both the Motor Vehicle Report if driving a motorized vehicle as well as a Criminal History Report. You will be notified via text or you can check the status via the Uber Driver app.
Who won’t pass the background check? Anyone with a disqualifying offense in the last 7 years or for any other safety-related reason. This includes DUIs, sexual offenses, felonies, violent crimes, theft, and property damage. If you want to dispute the accuracy of your background check, you can contact Checkr, the third-party provider running the background checks.
Step 4: Download the Uber Driver app
Uber will send you a text notification once your application has been approved and your account is active. You can also download the Uber Driver app to check the status of your application. You will need both your background check and vehicle information approved before you can start delivering. The process shouldn’t take longer than 1-3 business days on average.
Step 5: Get Started!
Once you finish signing up and your application is approved, you can start delivering! When you’re ready to get started, click “Go” and you’ll start receiving delivery requests near you. You’ll have 15 seconds to accept a delivery request. You can check out these instructions by Uber Eats to help you make your first delivery.
Overall it’s pretty simple:
- Accept the delivery request
- Pick up the food from the restaurant
- Deliver the order to customer’s location
And Don't Forget These Final Steps:
Knowing when to deliver:
You are your own boss now. Enjoy making your schedule fit your lifestyle. Stay organized and discover optimal times by using our Scheduling tool. Earn more by delivering when the highest demand for food delivery occurs. Generally, it goes like this:
- Lunch rush: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
- Dinner rush: 5:00 pm - 9:30 pm
- Other times: rainy days, events, holidays, game days, etc.
Remember that you can also optimize your earnings by applying to multiple gig apps and ensuring that you are working the right jobs at the right times for maximum hourly income. Uber Eats will also send you notifications about high-demand areas, promotions, and peak times.
Entering your bank account:
To cash out your earnings through direct deposit, you’ll need to enter your bank account information. You can do this by tapping Wallet > Settings > Add payment method. Uber Eats also has an option called Instant Pay, which allows you to cash out your earnings up to 5x per day. Your weekly earnings will appear in your account every Wednesday.
Note: Using Instant Pay will incur a $0.50 transaction fee each time you cash out.
Setting aside money for taxes:
When you drive with Uber Eats, you are considered an independent contractor, Uber Eats is not your employer. Delivery drivers who earn more than $600 a year will complete a 1099.
You will be responsible for accurately reporting your earnings in tax filings. Make sure you use Jackalope to track your mileage, expenses, and earnings and save thousands on your taxes. This means tracking everything from vehicle costs, mileage, insurance, tolls/parking, phone plan costs, bank costs, etc.
When to decline a delivery request:
Keeping your acceptance rate high is crucial. Ideally, you’ll want to focus on quick and short trips. When it’s busy, you can be more selective in waiting for the higher paying requests. As you deliver, you’ll start learning which restaurants are the fastest to fill orders and which locations have the highest demand
Main reasons to decline a request:
- The pick up is too far away
- The pick up area has difficult parking
- The restaurant has long wait times
- The drop off is outside of your delivery zone
Work for multiple food delivery apps:
For the final time, you’re your own boss! Remember that. You don’t have to be tied down to one app. Avoid long waits between deliveries and increase your earnings by having apps such as DoorDash and Grubhub running at the same time.
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