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A delivery man explained that in the last four days he only earned 20 dollars and that he has not had any more offers from the application.
After being consulted, Uber Eats assured that walkers have not been marked for “extinction” in its business system.
The company explained that walk-up drivers make up only a small percentage of deliveries in New York City.
Home service applications have been gaining relevance over time, which is why a large number of delivery men are registered, as is the case with Uber Eats recently disclosed that the app is quietly cutting the ranks of a little-known segment of its workers, those who deliver food orders on foot.
According to data from Statista, in 2020, the food delivery company Uber Eats registered revenues worth 4.8 billion dollars, thus doubling its turnover compared to 2019. The company also commands about a fifth of the food delivery market in the United States.
Uber Eats and its delivery people on foot
Through blog and social media claims by couriers, it has become known that Uber Eats is quietly cutting the ranks of a segment of food delivery workers such as those who deliver orders on foot.
“I used to do 10-15 deliveries a day, but the last two days I only got one assignment on my app,” a “walking” delivery man who did not want to be identified told The Post.
“Uber Eats delivery walkers are shocked, confused and without an explanation from the company as to why the walkers are being removed,” he added.
The delivery man also explained to the American media that in the last four days he only earned 20 dollars, since he has not had any more offers from the application.
“I did it at night when I had nothing to do. I got an email from Uber last week saying I should buy a bike.”says another delivery man on social media.
After being consulted, Uber Eats insists that the walkers have not been marked for “extinction”.
“We have not phased out couriers who deliver on foot,” Uber spokesman Freddi Goldstein said in a statement.
“We are simply encouraging couriers to use bicycles where possible to ensure the most reliable delivery times for consumers. In that sense, we are also connecting our couriers with information on discounted bike rentals,” she maintains.
The US company explained that foot couriers represent only a small percentage of deliveries in New York City and other urban markets where the service is active.
In that same order, this weekend, blogger Ethan Bowman reported that the delivery radius for Uber Eats walkers in the United States had been reduced to about 400 meters, a “ridiculously low” figure that was reduced from up to 1,300 meters before the crackdown.
“You would have to camp out in a 24-hour restaurant, surrounded by apartment buildings, just to take orders. At this point, Uber should just remove the walk option because they are treating walkers like disposable trash,” Bowman wrote on his GripRoom blog.
“Instead of facing the heat of laying off thousands of workers, they are being forced to resign,” he added. “In about a month they will be able to close the program ‘due to lack of interest,’” she points out.
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It is part of the MediaBook 2022 edition