Hunger Games: My Real-Life Experience as a Deliveroo rider

I’ve been doing Deliveroo food delivery for the past 2.5 months and here’s what I can share about my Deliveroo experience so far, including how much I typically earn.

Before you get too excited, though, know that I’m writing this while injured from my first food delivery accident. I’ll write more about safety issues later on — but, point is, it’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows…

Deliveroo rider signup & kit

I applied to be a Deliveroo rider back in late 2019 and was accepted into the fold immediately after purchasing the compulsory rider kit. I think there’s a waiting list now, though.

I opted for bicycle as my delivery mode. The cyclist kit comprises a jacket, backpack, long-sleeve shirt, and helmet. I didn’t like any of it so I sold them on Carousell and made back the cost of the kit.

This article I wrote for MoneySmart explains the signup process for Deliveroo.

Deliveroo zones & working hours

Deliveroo has 20 zones, each with its area code, as in the map I’ve grabbed from their website above.

To go online, you’ll need to select the zone you’re in. Your jobs will typically be within the zone. If you leave your zone to deliver to a neighbouring one, you will be “called back” to the original zone with your next order unless you manually switch zones.

You can Roo in any zone of your choice. Sometimes if there’s no business in SGAB (Bishan), I switch zones to SGNT (Balestier and Novena) where the orders tend to come in thick n fast.

It makes sense to work mainly during peak hours: 11am to 1pm and 6pm to 8pm. Why? (a) higher order volume means more jobs to choose from, (b) you get additional fees per job so your earnings add up.

What’s a typical session like?

Now, I know you’re probably eager to skip to the next section, about how much you can earn, but for context it would help to know what a typical “work day” is like.

• Since I live quite close to Bishan MRT, I turn on my app at home

• Once I get an order that I’m willing to accept (see note below), I hop on my bike and head over to the restaurant

• I collect the order. If there’s a long wait, I cancel the order

• I cycle over to the customer’s place and drop off the food

• Since I usually accept nearby destinations (see note below), I’m still near the hot zone when my trip ends, and I get my next job almost right away

The cycle repeats until 1pm or 8pm (cutoff time for surge fees). I accept my last order and complete it, then go home. I usually complete 3 to 5 orders per session of 1.5 to 2 hours.

One annoying thing about Deliveroo is that they don’t consolidate multiple orders from the same area (like Grab does), so I often end up cycling or walking back and forth along the same route.

Note on accepting orders: You can reject as many orders as you want with Deliveroo. As long as the restaurant is reasonably nearby and the customer is near a mall or restaurant cluster, that’s usually good enough for me. If I find myself cherry-picking excessively, I take it as a sign that I’m tired and just go home.

How much can you earn with Deliveroo?

Deliveroo’s fares vary according to travel distances, but the base fare per order is $4. During mealtimes, add the surge fees to this base fare. So if the surge in your zone is $2, then the minimum fare per order is $6 for the shortest-distance jobs.

After aggregating about 2 months of data, I earned an average of $6.83 per order on Deliveroo. At my (admittedly sedate) pace, I typically make $20 to $30 per session. If you do Deliveroo for both lunch and dinner at my rate, it’s quite reasonable to expect to make about $50 per day.

If you’re willing to work on rainy days, that’s a good way to up your earnings immediately. Surge fees almost double and there are plenty of nearby orders to choose from. I made about $40 per session during the pre-NDP rainy season in July.

I’m not an expert, but looking at Jon’s motorbike account, the fare structure seems similar across vehicle types.

Bicycle vs walker: which mode is better?

If you’re doing food delivery part-time, these are the 2 lowest-cost and -commitment options. You can switch between them by submitting the Vehicle Change Form (pictured above).

I have tried both, and here’s what I have to say…

Bicycle: Possibly the most efficient way to travel short distances, might even beat riding a motorbike. Can park anywhere and cut through places on foot. You will receive more orders than a walker and can accept most; thus you will earn more than a walker.

That said, not all places are very bike-friendly. I would HATE to cycle along Thomson Road circa Novena Square, for example. Timing matters too. Bishan can be a madhouse in the evenings.

Walker: I personally enjoy walking as it’s relaxing, safe, and feels no different from taking away your own food. If not for my plantar fasciitis I would walk more.

But walking really only works in dense areas like the CBD (SGCC in Roo parlance). There are practically no orders in Bishan; areas like Novena or Orchard may have some but the distances are quite far. You can’t earn that much since you will take longer to complete each job, too.

What if you get in an accident?

I recently got into an accident and I’m not at all surprised it happened. Why? When doing food delivery, I…

• Sometimes have to take cycling routes I’m not familiar or comfortable with

• Often look at my phone when the app pings or to refer to the map

• Easily get angry at obstacles or people blocking my path

• Take my eyes off the road to look for block numbers

• Am not paying close attention to my immediate surroundings

In my case, the accident happened while I was trying to hit Deliveroo’s National Day incentive:

The incentive wasn’t worth my time at all, by the way. The system was saturated with riders and orders were slow. I started at 4pm and was still at Order #5 three hours later.

So it was 7pm and I was on my way to drop off someone’s burgers. My mind wasn’t on the road. I was fantasising about hitting the “Arrived” button so I could get Order #6 ASAP and just call it a day.

As I was dreaming about knocking off, I cycled past an exit concealed by tall hedges:

Too late, I realised that a cab was exiting at the same time. I watched in horror as my bike made contact with its bumper and moved sideways and toppled over on the road. Amazingly, only the burgers were badly damaged. Everything else was fine — even my specs. So I parked my broken bike and hobbled home to rest.

After getting home I contacted Rider Support and they cancelled my trip and told me to dispose of the damaged food. Then I got a nice email from Deliveroo reminding me I’m covered by accident insurance and that I am under no obligation to work while injured. Yeah, no shit, since they’re not paying me either.

I was in a foul mood in the next few days, though. My body ached and my biggest wound, on the elbow, wouldn’t stop stinging and oozing pus. Worst of all, I felt mortal.

Things got better after I splurged on some good bandages. Moral of the story: get good bandages! Oh, and don’t let yourself be manipulated by the promise of a few extra bucks.

Concluding thoughts on Deliveroo

Overall I’m happy to continue doing Deliveroo (and don’t feel the need to go to Grab or Foodpanda) because…

• Reasonable fares: $6 to $7 per job is acceptable to me

• Unlimited rejections: definitely the biggest advantage over the rest!

• No irritating rules: like having to wear the GrabFood uniform — yo I quit corporate life for a reason

• No gamification: not interested in gem quests and batch rider systems — see above

• Short wait times: my Deliveroo orders are almost always ready ahead of the others, otherwise I simply reject

That said, I’m very clear about my limits and would never make food delivery my full-time gig. There are just too many risks, from bodily harm to intellectual attrition. But for now, it’s a perfectly good way to exercise, earn some pocket money, and kaypoh what other people are eating.