Riders will soon be able to earn money riding their bikes when Uber moves into motorcycles in Australia with the launch of UberEATS in Melbourne, followed by other capital cities.
UberEATS is part of the Uber worldwide taxi service which operates in 58 countries and 300 cities, including the first motorcycle passenger service in Thailand.
But the Australian Uber motorcycle service launching in April 2016 won’t be a passenger service, says driver operations manager Raoul Lobo. Instead, Uber riders will deliver food.
“UberEATS now provides the opportunity for motorcycle riders to use their own vehicles to make money on the Uber platform when and where they want by delivering food from the restaurants to the customers,” he says.
Clients will be able to order the UberEATS bike to pick up and deliver their food using the Uber app. Riders will also be able to use the flexible Uber app wherever they are to score a job.
“There are no shifts and no requirements on how often or how long a partner should work for,” Raoul says.
Uber is offering a $500 incentive for those who sign up and complete 50 trips on the platform.
Raoul says they will “guarantee” earnings of $30 in gross fares an hour at the time of launch with up to 40 hours of work a week.
“I think this is a very exciting opportunity that does not currently exist for motorbike riders in Melbourne,” he says.
The service launches in mid-April and is expected to spread across other state capitals.
Rider requirements:
- Probationary or full driver’s licences and international licences are acceptable;
- Uber will conduct a criminal history check to ensure partners do not have any prior convictions.
So all you really need is a reliable motorcycle or scooter and UberEATS will provide insulated backpacks.
Australia will be the fourth nation to launch Uber’s food delivery service, but it it’s the second to use two wheels after Paris. The current 12 UberEATS cities are in the US, Toronto and Paris.
A Parisienne UberEATS cyclistUberCab was launched in San Francisco by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009, became international in 2012 and is now worth more than US$62.5 billion.
However, it now faces legal battles against governments and taxi companies over its legitimacy. It is claimed that the drivers are not licensed to drive taxis and are therefore unsafe. However, that may not affect a food delivery service such as this with no passengers involved.
Raoul says they are only dealing with the delivery of restaurant food for now, but also plan to expand the service to delivering other items in future.
Interested riders can sign up by clicking here.