Delivery options used to be pretty limited in most cities. Unless you lived in a densely populated area, you were usually stuck with whatever pizza joint was nearby. If you were particularly rural, you may have to even drive out to the store to pick up your meal.
That was before Uber Eats made it easy to bring whatever you wanted right to your door.
So what are the best hours for Uber Eats? The best hours for Uber Eats are typically around normal meal hours – lunch from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. A driver looking to pick up more money during peak hours would also do well on rainy days.
This blog will discuss the best operating hours for drivers to make the most money as well as some other general tips for drivers.
Best Hours For Uber Eats
It’s helpful that the best hours for Uber Eats fall around mealtimes, as drivers can arrange their schedules accordingly. Drivers for Uber Eats are able to drive whenever they want. It’s different from companies such as Doordash, which has scheduled shifts for its employees. It also has more drivers than competitors like Lyft.
A lot of drivers, however, prefer to work the peak hours for Uber Eats. It simply translates into better pay and more work. Moreover, Uber offers a bonus for drivers willing to work during busy periods. They get extra, known in the business as peak or boost pay. This is similar to how drivers get paid extra for driving clients to and from airports like MIA or LAX.
Generally, drivers will want to work these hours, as the benefits are quite worthwhile. It’s the first piece of advice you’ll find offered online to newcomers looking to make money: work peak hours for boost pay.
The Best Times To Drive For Uber Eats According to The Company
One of the reasons Uber Eats is so beneficial to its employees is that they genuinely want to keep you working. In fact, they want you delivering at all times, that’s what their whole model is founded upon.
Uber even has their own suggested list of times when you’re likely to make the most money. From the website, the optimal times to drive are:
Lunch: 12 – 2 p.m.
Dinner: 5 – 9:30 p.m.
The website also advises that you’ll do best if you remain in areas that are dense with Uber Eats restaurants. Busy areas, such as the downtown of a bustling city, will also be marked with Boost pay.
It makes sense that lunch and dinner are the busiest times. They’re the only meals working people really put any effort or thought into most of the time, usually skipping breakfast altogether or throwing on something reliable. Neither process requires delivery.
The Best Times To Drive For Uber Eats According To Drivers
While the advice from headquarters is actually helpful in this instance, there’s nothing more reliable than the word on the street.
Naturally, drivers have their own ideas about how to make the best money driving. One recommends any night between the hours of 5 p.m. and midnight. Those are the real peak hours, particularly in cities known for party atmospheres.
Not only will you get your share of straight meal delivery requests, but you’ll also pick up traffic for drunk, late-night snacks and after-last call orders. The only reason this can be a better scheduling plan is that there’s likely less competition after the regular meal hours pass.
Many people at this time will use their Uber Eats Pass to pay for their meals, so they won’t think twice about ordering something.
Typically, drivers following this schedule earn between $15 and $20 an hour.
Bike couriers for Uber Eats also tend to make a lot of money with the schedule, again in big cities where car traffic can often be slow. On a bike, you’re often beating car delivery by a good half hour.
If you do need a break, the ideal way to schedule them is between meal hours. Between the hours of 3 p.m and 5 p.m., calls for deliveries tend to dry up, so there’s no point in working them. You might get the odd call, but for the most part, those hours are fairly quiet. Most people are back at their job.
Working a schedule advised by the company or other drivers are both great ways for those seeking to really make some extra cash as an Uber Eats driver, but you should always try to schedule those breaks so you don’t exhaust yourself and miss out on the better hours.
