Want to Deliver With Uber Eats? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

The gig economy includes a little bit of everything — from Uber and Lyft partners to TaskRabbiters to Airbnb hosts. And it makes up a chunk of our overall economy.

About 7.8% of Americans (roughly 19.4 million of us), have earned money through the gig economy, according to a Penny Hoarder analysis of the 2017 Federal Reserve Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking.

Approximately 4 million of these gig workers have made money driving with Uber and Lyft.

One money-making option that you might not hear about as much? Uber Eats.

Perks include choosing your own hours and not having to drive intoxicated patrons around town — just some (hopefully) good-smellin’ takeout.

A Beginner’s Guide to Delivering Food Through Uber Eats

If you’re interested in delivering with Uber Eats, here’s what you need to know before hopping on board:

How Does Uber Eats Work?

Delivering food through Uber Eats is similar to giving rides through Uber. But rather than picking up and delivering people to a destination, you’ll deliver food. It’s different from a traditional food delivery service, because no one has to hand you money — that’s all handled within the app.

If you deliver food through Uber Eats, you’ll open the app and enable delivery requests. Requests are pinged to drivers who are closest to the restaurant, so you’ll want to position yourself strategically.

Typically, you’ll have up to 30 seconds to decide if you want to accept a delivery. If you opt in, you’ll get more information about the task, including the pick-up and drop-off locations and any special instructions. If you have questions for the user — did you really want 30 packets of ketchup? — you can contact them through the app.

Depending on the city, the customer may request for you to deliver the food curbside, meaning the user comes to you or requests you to deliver it at their door.

Uber Eats Requirements — Do You Qualify?

It’s time to determine whether you and your mode of transportation qualify for an Uber Eats delivery partner. Depending on where you live (check your location’s specific requirements), you could deliver via car, scooter or bike. Also note the vehicle and age requirements vary by city.

Car Delivery Requirements

• You must be at least 19 years old.
• You need to drive a two- or four-door car made after 1998.
• You must possess a valid driver’s license and insurance.
• You need to have at least one year of driving experience in the U.S.

Scooter Delivery Requirements

• You must be at least 19 years old.
• You must have a valid driver’s license and scooter registration.
• Any make and model of a two-wheel scooter is allowed.
• It must have a 50cc motor or less and cannot travel faster than 30 mph.

Bike Delivery Requirements

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You need a government-issued ID.

How Much Can You Earn Delivering using the Uber Eats app?

How much you make through Uber Eats totally depends on how many orders you choose to accept.

Your earning may include a pick-up fee, a drop-off fee and a per mile earning fee. Uber takes a cut of the overall payout. Tips from users belong to you and should automatically be added to your total earnings.

Like Uber, Uber Eats also uses surge pricing, depending on demand, which could mean more money for you.

Also like Uber, Uber Eats offers an Instant Pay feature, which means you can get paid up to five times a day when you register your debit card.

Feeling Hungry for Extra Cash? Here’s How to Sign up

If you want to give Uber Eats a try and see how much you could make, signing up doesn’t take too long. You’ll sign up to deliver with Uber Eats online, just like you’d sign up for Uber.

In fact, if you’re already an Uber rideshare partner, there’s no need to sign up again. You’ll have the option to make Uber Eats deliveries within your app — just opt in for both driving and deliveries under your trip preferences.

Carson Kohler ([email protected]) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.