40% of American workers generate a part of their income from the gig economy and contribute over a trillion dollars to the economy.
These and other statistics of the gig economy tell us one thing: this is the future.
Gone are the days people would work the traditional 9 to 5 from the cradle to the grave. Today, it’s possible to get an income from piecing together several sources of work.
In this guide, we will look at how to make $1000 a week with Uber Eats your way.
But What Exactly Is The Gig Economy?
In essence, this is a working system where companies opt to work with independent contractors as opposed to hiring full-time employees. Naturally, full-time employees attract a salary alongside other bonuses and benefits. This makes them more expensive to maintain.
A business can use independent contractors on a need-basis, making them significantly more affordable. UberEats falls in this category.
If you are currently delivering for Uber Eats or thinking about getting into it, you have probably wondered how you can make the most money for your efforts. But first things first.
What Is Uber Eats?
Uber Eats is an online food delivery platform that allows customers to order food from their favorite restaurants, cafes, and bars via the Uber eats website. Customers can also order via the Uber Eats’ IOS and Android apps.
Once customers make their orders, you come in as the delivery driver to ensure they get their food as requested.
This service is available in the US, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia.
This delivery platform has become as popular as it is because:
- The platform is user friendly and is very easy for customers to order food
- The service is available in multiple countries;45 countries and 6,000 cities
- Customers with the Uber eats app use the same account information for Uber Eats
- Delivery by an Uber Eats driver is very affordable and costs slightly more than dining out
Is It Possible To Make $1000 on Uber Eats?
Indeed estimates the average hourly income for an Uber Eats driver at $14. 65. Glassdoor places the figure at $20. Using the latter, your earnings would hit the $800 threshold if you were to work 40 hours a week. 50 to 60 hours would then edge you to $1,000 or more per week.
With these hours, you can very well make $1,000 every week, mainly because Uber Eats has among the highest delivery volumes in this space.
However, as an Uber eats driver, it’s still worth evaluating how to make this amount without the long hours as an Uber eats delivery driver.
How To Make $1000 A Week With Uber Eats
We have already determined that $1,000 is possible on Uber Eats. Still, we all want to make that kind of money while working reasonable hours.
Here are some actionable tips to help you make more each day so as to reach the target amount faster while driving fewer hours.
1. Maximize On Weekends
The best time to work on Uber Eats to make more money is over the weekends. There are two reasons for the higher demand experienced on weekends.
Think about it. Weekends are often when people want to stay home, relax, hang out with family, and not necessarily have to make their own homemade food.
This pushes up order volumes, which is advantageous in two ways. The first is that the higher the order volumes, the more hits you will get for deliveries. This translates to more money.
The second is that high volumes can trigger surge pricing and peak pay, which means you earn higher amounts than usual.
That’s not all. People host a lot over the weekend. People that have birthdays on weekdays likely push them to the weekend. There are also parties, post-bar parties, and other get-togethers. This means the food ordered is in bulk. These large orders will naturally attract higher tips if people tip 10% to 20% of their orders.
The other reason to work weekends is that you will find many Uber eats drivers off work over the weekends. This means more orders for the Uber eats drivers on duty, with possible surge pricing.
If you are an Uber eats driver happy to forgo your weekends, you can make much more cash than you would on weekdays, and this will edge you closer to the targeted weekly amount. Be sure to work Friday and Saturday nights and daytime on Sunday.
Being an independent contractor in charge of your working schedule, you can always take a day off on Monday or Tuesday. These are often listed as the slow days.
2. Drive At The Right Times For More Money
It’s no secret that driving at the correct times is the most basic way to increase your income on the platform.
Aside from weekends, there are other times to maximize your hustle to up your earnings.
First off, driving during peak hours makes it more likely to get a steady stream of deliveries.
The other times to be on duty are during surges. The app will give you a bonus for every delivery completed during busy periods.
So, as a rule of thumb, always take the time to check what deliveries look like on any particular day.
Essentially, these hours are centered around mealtimes.
These are specifically broken down into:
- Lunch hour: 11 am to 2 pm
- Dinner time: 5 pm to 9:30 pm
When you log into your app, also look at the surge areas. These are marked with higher boost multiples. These are typically in areas with numerous busy Uber Eats restaurants.
The dinner time slot can also extend to midnight or past midnight on holidays and weekends. You can always expect post-dinner snacking orders and late-night post-bar requests. Similarly, the later you stay out, the fewer Uber eats drivers there are on the road, meaning you can get more high-value trips. These offer more money.
Uber also suggests that you can make more money on rainy and snowy days. This makes a lot of sense too. Poor weather makes people want to stay home and order in. Many drivers will also be tempted to do the same.
Uber always rewards an Uber eats driver working during these times.
3. Tips Are Crucial
Like any other food delivery job, tips greatly affect how much money you can make delivering on Uber Eats per week.
A few solid tips will increase your hourly pay as an Uber eats driver without having to take additional jobs.
While tips are not entirely in your control, there are some things you can do to encourage tipping or higher tip amounts. These include:
- Get to the client as quickly as possible; this ensures hot foods get to them hot and cold stuff (think ice cream, frozen yogurt and so on) gets to them cold. Good navigation skills will aid this.
- Keep in communication with the customer.
You can have text templates on your phone to let customers know you are at the restaurant picking up their orders, inform them of delays, and let them know you are en route. These small personalized details work like magic.
- Always grab extras like napkins, sauces, and other freebies offered at the restaurant. Be sure to inform the customer that you have included a few items in their order.
- Be courteous and friendly when making the delivery. A polite, cheery smile won’t hurt, and often get Uber eats drivers higher tips.
- Confirm your order at the restaurant to ensure they got the order right. This is not in your JD as a driver, but why lose out on tips from wrong orders that are not your fault?
- Ask them to rate you after you deliver food. This will get them back on the app, and the app will ask them if they would like to leave you a tip. In essence, asking customers to rate you also brings up the issue of tipping, only it comes from the app and not from you as an individual. It might not always bear fruit, but this strategy is worth trying because you need as many tips as you can get.
Be Strategic
To make enough money, delivery drivers want to make as many trips as possible. However, one common misconception made by new drivers is that many trips equate to extra cash. This is not always true. What you need are trips that offer good value.
This calls for you to sift through the trips offered on the platform and get those that will offer the most value. As mentioned earlier, these will typically be those offering peak pay when there is a surge.
Similarly, while people are unlikely to stop eating fast food anytime soon, these might not offer the best value on delivery for you as a driver. For example, you might see a $5 fast-food order for delivery a mile away and think this is a good deal.
What you don’t know is that low-paying fast-food gigs can waste a lot of your time, even in the drive-through. Aside from such orders taking up to much time, the tip on a $5 order really does nothing to help you reach your targets.
Outside of this, ensure to pick trips paying at least $1 per mile of driving. The app allows you to accept or reject trips coming in. With $1 per mile, you can fuel your car, pay car insurance and take care of other expenses while leaving some profit for yourself. This amount also factors in gas and car depreciation.
How much can I make an hour with Uber eats?
You can comfortably make $120 to $160 per day on Uber eats. In addition, you can make extra money as a food delivery driver with the tips highlighted above.
Still, you want to skip morning deliveries and focus on lunchtime and evening/night shifts as there is the most demand for meal delivery services.
If you opt for 9 am to 5 pm, you can be sure to make much less. Similarly, don’t skip weekends.
Can one work on Uber eats full-time?
This depends on your costs of living and income goals.
You can comfortably earn $2000 to $ 3000 on Uber eats, which is a livable wage, more so if you are single with no dependents. If you are looking to supplement college fees, this can also be a viable income earner for part-timers.
In fact, most people delivering for Uber eats use the platform as an additional source of income.
Do we have Uber eats alternatives?
Multiple platforms can offer you an opportunity to earn an income in rideshare or delivery driver. The more popular ones are:
- Rideshare
- Amazon Flex
- Uber and Lyft
- Food delivery apps like DoorDash
- GrubHub
Many drivers use more than one app simultaneously, which increases their odds of bagging a gig.
How do I become an Uber eats delivery driver?
There are three steps to becoming an Uber eats driver:
Sign up online
The first step is downloading the app. This is available in the Apple store and on Google play.
Once you have downloaded the app, create an account. This will be your driver profile.
Register as a driver
With the app downloaded and a driver profile, it’s time to enter your details like name, location, phone number, and email.
You will also have to enter information on your car, including registration, year of manufacture, and model.
Set your preferences
Once you are set up, you need to enter your preferences to get the most out of your deliveries. Here, choose the best delivery hours for you, include any additional information requested and submit your application.
You are at liberty to work as much or as little as you want. You can work full-time or part-time when you are not at your regular job.
What are the Uber eats driving requirements?
To become eligible to drive for Uber eats, you must:
- Possess a valid driver’s license in the United States
- Provide proof of vehicle insurance
- Have a minimum of three years of driving experience if you are under 23
- Possess an eligible four-car door and a smartphone
- Demonstrate residency in your city or state and pass a driving check. The screening typically takes three to five days and involves a background check. This assesses your criminal background and driving history.
Uber will reject drivers that have been previously convicted of sexual violations, felonies, and serious crimes. In addition, applicants with numerous driving violations and driving offenses can be rejected.
How can I reduce operating costs as an Uber Eats driver?
As with any business, you want to keep your running costs as low as possible to maximize profits.
A good tip to slash business costs for a new driver on the app is to find a small, low-capacity, high-efficient vehicle to use for your deliveries. This will not consume a lot of fuel, and its maintenance costs are likely to be lower as well.
You can also find fueling stations with reward systems. The cash savings you make from this are small on the face of it, but they add up over time. For example, the Uber Visa Debit Card gives you a 5% cash back at any gas station.
You will also need to pay taxes. Familiarizing yourself with all the tax breaks available in your jurisdiction for this industry can also save you some dollars.
How does Uber eats calculate my pay?
You will earn money from the app for any order you pick up and deliveries you complete. Aside from the base pay, you also get paid a per-mile rate and per-minute rate in some cities.
Uber customers also have the option to tip you on the app or give you cash in person.
The app pays its drivers every week through an automatic bank transfer to your account. You can also use Instapay to cash out your uber eats pay up to five times daily.
What are some advantages of working for Uber eats?
Working as a driver on Uber eats has several advantages.
The first is its flexibility. Like most other gig economy jobs, you get the technology from the company, in this case, the Uber Eats driver app, but are in control of everything else, like determining your own schedule.
You can pick your hours without any problem and even take on multiple gig economy jobs or mainstream jobs and drive for Uber eats after hours and on weekends. The choice is yours.
The other thing about it is that aside from a valid license, being a good driver, and being personable, driving for Uber eats does not require much. Nonetheless, if you have worked in other courier companies, this will be a bonus to you as you will find it much easier to work on Uber eats.
The platform allows you to pick your jobs. Your dashboard will give you the job’s details when a gig comes in. These will include the restaurant, destination, pay, promotions and tips. So you can quickly identify and pick jobs that will make you a reasonable amount of cash from this information.
The Take-Away
Whether you are looking to work full-time or part-time, you might enjoy the flexibility, convenience, and monetary gains you can make delivering for Uber eats.
To get an edge over other drivers, consistently use the tips outlined above, and you will undoubtedly reap the benefits.
Ready to get started? Follow this app link, sign up as an Uber eats driver in your area, and start earning!
