This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a gig worker who delivers for Uber Eats in New York City. He spoke to Business Insider about what it has been like to deliver in the city since late 2023 when a new law raised the minimum wage for NYC gig delivery workers to about $18 an hour.
The worker asked not to be named in this piece, citing fear that Uber would deactivate his account. BI has verified his identity, employment, and earnings. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I've been working for Uber for three years now. I joined because I wanted flexibility to work when I wanted.
Around here in Queens, it's all fast food: McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King. I'm waiting to pick up an order at Wendy's right now.
When the law was first proposed here in New York City, we were going to get additional pay. Early on, there was a proposal for $25 an hour. Then they slowly chipped away at it to $18 when the law was implemented.
When the added pay first came out in January 2024, it was amazing. I made about $1,000 that month. Then, my pay drastically went down every month after that. In March, I made just over $700.
Before, we never had a schedule. I could go out to work at two in the morning. I might not get anything, but I could go out. It was the beauty of it.
Now, you have to schedule your work most of the time. I can pick up to five one-hour blocks a week, but that's not even a full day of work.
One time, I opened the app and saw just early-morning blocks. Who wants just those?
The blocks open up on Friday and we have to schedule immediately. If we wait any longer than that, the hours are taken already. So if you're not on the app by 3 o'clock on Friday afternoon, you're out of luck.
We also can't go out of the area. For me, I can't leave Queens, which is hard because when you take an order, it sometimes takes you out of the zoned area and then you can't get an order coming back.
I end up doing other things. I travel all over the city, and whichever delivery app lets me on, I go on.
I'm doing more Instacart now. You can also try to do more DoorDash, but DoorDash is even more restrictive. You can make more money, but there are also people on those apps who have made a career out of it and are better at claiming orders to deliver.
Uber makes it impossible. You can go on without scheduling sometimes, such as when they need more people during a busy time. But it's tough because their version of "busy" and your version of "busy" are two different things. Everyone gets the word that it's busy, so people might race to the area, and then by the time you get there, there are no orders to take anymore.
Now, we're back to square one, basically making the same amount of money with the added pay as we were without it because they've made it so impossible to work.
Is a job like this sustainable? No, not at all. I'm not looking at other jobs yet, but I will, eventually.
Uber did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at abitter@insider.com or 808-854-4501.
