Western Sydney is a great place to start food deliveries. Areas like Parramatta, Harris Park, Auburn, Granville and around Rydalmere have great density of restaurants and apartments so you won’t spend long driving around. However, for many new riders the issue is purchasing a scooter.
You can rent a scooter to test it. It is not a shortcut around licences, visas or platform rules, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise.
Do The Boring Things First
Before you get excited about insulated pouches and peak hour areas, make sure you’re set up properly. Ensure you have a licence to ride a scooter in NSW. Just having a car licence won’t count. If you have an international rider licence, ensure you know how long it will last and if you should be switching to a NSW licence.
Ensure that you are eligible to work. Each platform will have different processes. Uber Eats, Menulog and DoorDash all operate in Sydney however they may have different and changing requirements. Check the official application or website to ensure you meet the requirements for each platform.
Fill out as much as possible before you get your scooter so you don’t have to sit around on a rented scooter for three days waiting for an email.
What You’ll Need
As this is a tool, you’ll want an automatic scooter that is small to fit through tight areas. You’ll also want something that you can store your food upright in and a phone mount. The most popular scooter for this around Sydney is the 110cc Honda Dio. It’s small, automatic and is what people typically use for suburban deliveries.
Having fuel, a charged phone, data, a proper fitting helmet and a good bag/box to store your food will be more important than having a nice coloured scooter. You’ll also want some wet weather gear as eventually there will be a storm in Western Sydney during summer.
If you’re renting, check what comes with the scooter. Some will have a delivery box, phone mount and helmet. Ensure you know what insurance comes with it and that you are allowed to do food deliveries. This can be easily overlooked and it will hurt later.
Best Rental Scooter provide Honda Dio 110cc scooters from Rydalmere. They have weekly packages starting from $59, a $200 refundable bond and a minimum of 4 weeks. You can have them set up with a delivery box. Their food delivery work guidance is a practical read if you are still mapping out the first week.
Making Money From The Area
The key to making money here is knowing where the hotspots are. Don’t get tempted to do every deal around the city. Take some time to ride around the areas you’ll be working in. Church Street, Auburn Road areas and around the Parramatta restaurants. Get to know the areas and where the awkward driveways and no parking areas are.
Always stop to check your phone. If you drop a pin in a maze of units, it’s fine to stop for 30 seconds. I’d rather waste a minute than take a silly risk at an intersection.
Keep track of your fuel and time. Once you start doing deliveries you’ll think you’re making a good amount of money. But once you take into consideration the fuel, hire fee and time you’ve spent waiting outside busy shops it may not be as much as you thought. There is no guaranteed pay with any of the platforms and it will vary from night to night and suburb to suburb.
Ensure Your Scooter Is Working
Don’t get caught out with a breakdown during peak dinner times. Before heading out online, check your tyres, lights, brakes and fuel. If you’re renting and they have a servicing schedule, don’t skip it just because you’re busy. It’s cheaper to have it serviced every few thousand km’s than to be pushing your bike around on a Friday night.
Don’t get over ambitious. Doing a few shifts in a local area of Western Sydney will teach you more than doing 12 hours of shifts in areas you don’t know. If you enjoy doing it, you can keep going. If not, you’ll be happy you didn’t purchase a scooter to find out.
Lastly, whilst talking to other riders can be fun, be cautious with how much they are earning. A Friday night in Parramatta in December is not the same as a Tuesday lunch in the rain. Make your own decision based on your numbers after a couple of normal shifts.
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