The pandemic has caused an unprecedented dip in ride-sharing traffic. In a pandemic-stricken economy, drivers can expect more success in driving for delivery services apps compared to driving passengers. As an app driver, it’s important to know where best to spend your time. Even though it’s becoming more difficult for drivers to get ride-sharing customers, it’s actually easier than ever to profit from delivery driving.
COVID-19 Impact on Delivery Services
The global health crisis has caused the driver economy to shift drastically from ride-sharing to on-demand delivery services. Here are the main reasons:
1. Delivery Drivers Are in High Demand
App drivers are in demand now that companies are responding to the “new normal” amid COVID-19. Given social distancing measures, local businesses are looking to deliver orders to customers via app drivers instead of attracting them to their storefront. It’s costly for businesses to start up their own in-house fleet of drivers to facilitate their deliveries. Outsourcing the job to an app like DeliverEnd makes it easy for them—and that’s where you come in. Using the vehicle you have, you can handle delivery jobs for local businesses as they continue adapting to new ways of serving their customers.
2. Fewer People Are Sharing Rides
Uber announced in March 2020 that its drivers’ mileage was down by as much as 70% in cities hardest hit by COVID-19. The delivery app Uber Eats saw more growth last year than the original Uber app designed for ride-sharing. Meanwhile, Lyft paused hiring new drivers while it quickly rolled out a goods delivery service in April.
With most consumers now worried about picking up germs in public places due to the risk for COVID-19 exposure, they’re traveling less using apps like Uber and Lyft. While places like nightclubs and restaurants are seeing less business during pandemic-related restrictions, they also require fewer rides.
3. Pooled Rides Are No Longer Available
Before the pandemic, Uber offered UberPOOL and Lyft had Lyft Line. They let drivers shuttle around multiple passengers at a time, allowing them to spend less while drivers earn more for their time. Once social distancing became a public health mandate, Uber and Lyft removed these options, causing the number of rides taken to decrease even further.
4. People Aren’t Going to the Airport or Local Attractions
Drivers earned a chunk of their income driving tourists and business travelers to and from the airport. After airlines canceled flights and implemented travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, passengers have not been going to go and from the airport in near the same numbers as before. Another big earner for drivers before the pandemic was ride-sharing for tourists visiting attractions and locals going out on the town. With places like nightclubs and bars still closed in California and Colorado, drivers aren’t seeing the same earnings.
4. E-Commerce and M-Commerce Are Booming
Since shopping online lets you get what you need from outside your home without even leaving it, people are relying heavily on delivery apps to order groceries from the stores they used to visit. With many retail stores shut down and big-box retailers like Amazon and Walmart facing stock shortages, consumers who had never used mobile apps for on-demand delivery are now using them to buy their necessities. This trend isn’t likely to go away in 2021.
How to Make the Most of the On-Demand Delivery Trend
App drivers who only transport passengers will undoubtedly see a dip in their income unless they take on delivery jobs. Here’s how app drivers can make the most of the current consumer trend for on-demand delivery.
Stick to Delivery Driving
It’s difficult to do both delivery driving and passenger driving, especially when you have large orders to truck around or are carrying multiple deliveries in your car. When you stick to delivery driving, you can find enough gigs to work without having to take passengers through Uber or Lyft. Once you sign up with a delivery app, like DeliverEnd, and start getting jobs, you can stop accepting new passenger pickups.
Drive for Multiple Delivery Apps
Driving for more than one on-demand delivery app allows you to get the widest selection of jobs and ensure there’s always a flow of work coming your way. If you’re doing delivery driving full time, you can make the most of driving for multiple delivery apps by picking up delivery jobs on different apps based on your location and the nearest jobs available. An alternative way is to do food delivery apps during peak mealtime hours and other deliveries, like office or grocery deliveries during the remaining hours.
Drive for DeliverEnd App
DeliverEnd is the home delivery services app for businesses designed with safety in mind. Just like you would accept ride jobs from passengers, you can accept delivery jobs from customers. Select from a number of jobs and filter by job type based on your vehicle size or preferences, like whether you’re willing to pick up a grocery order that a customer preordered and paid for. We offer flexibility and no limits on the number of jobs you can accept in a day, and you keep 100% of the tips from your customers.
