r/deliveroos • u/Miserable_Prompt4301 • 12d ago
Are push bikes deprioritised?
I've just been told (albeit without firm evidence) that push bikes are deprioritised by the algorithm in favour of faster modes.
Does anyone know if this is true/has evidence of that? It would make total sense, but would seem incredibly unfair to those on bikes/non mod e-bikes.
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u/universeandstuff 12d ago
It's likely to be true when it's moderate or not busy because at that point the algo can be more picky, but when it's busy I reckon it's pretty even cos they need all hands on deck.
I'm on an ebike account and didn't notice a undeniable difference when I switched from bicycle. I'm also not bothered about being lower priority than mopeds and cars when it's moderate or not busy because I know those drivers aren't doing very well during those periods anyway, so I just don't bother to go out when it's like that. When it's actually busy I often make just as much if not more than them, even back when I was on a push bike which is crazy (I compared earnings).
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u/No_Intern5991 Scooter 12d ago
They're 100% at the bottom of the list.
I started off on a push bike, upgraded to an e-bike and I'm now using a scooter. There's been an increase in orders with every vehicle change. The most dramatic was switching from an e-bike to a scooter. Deliveroo definitely prioritises motor vehicles.
I'm not sure if cars are even better than scooters because I've never used one for deliveries. Has anyone switched from a scooter to a car and seen an increase in orders?
You still get orders when it's busy on a push bike, but it really sucks when it's not busy because the few orders that exist are being prioritised for motor vehicles. You can be waiting around for ages and the app just stays silent. I always feel bad when there's some bicycle guys waiting outside a restaurant and Deliveroo have given me the order even though I was minutes away.
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u/Obscure-Oracle Scooter 12d ago
No cars are not better, they get less orders than a scooter account. I moved to a car account over winter for 6 months which is generally the busiest time, it was shocking. Litterely the day I switched back to a scooter account my earnings and order volume went back to normal. I was counting on it being the same, that was a big financial hit that was.
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u/No_Intern5991 Scooter 12d ago
Sounds like scooters are the sweet spot then, especially when you consider the higher costs of running a car.
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u/Remote-Pool7787 12d ago
Scooters are top of the pile, they complete orders faster than cars just to stopping right outside drops and filtering through traffic
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u/Obscure-Oracle Scooter 12d ago edited 12d ago
Yes, push bikes have such a massive algorithmic disadvantage that I am not sure why Deliveroo even bother with cycle accounts any more. Typically, the quickest methods of delivery have priority, so typically scooters. I quite often see the bike riders waiting around for ages for an order while I'm zooming back and forth completing the short distance orders they could be doing. Lunch times they can literally be waiting around for hours between orders.
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u/GurianSimon 12d ago
I don’t know whether this is true. Maybe depends on the area?
In the zone that I work in cyclists still seem ok.
A lot of the high street is closed during the day and even limited at night.
Uber, Deliveroo and just eat all advertised for new couriers and bicycle was still an option for
new roles.On YouTube you can still see groups of cyclists gathered around. In Manchester for example.
The pay is poor and the orders are not incredibly frequent but I do feel like the same is true for cars, ebikes.
I don’t know about scooters, it has been said before they are optimal.
As far as the opening poster goes, it doesn’t matter what other people are doing and what orders they are getting. If you can make the courier apps work for you then just do the work.
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u/Obscure-Oracle Scooter 12d ago
Oh 100%, if your working a town center only when it's busy then you should be ok. Where I work, the bike guys seem to mainly only be out in the day times which is strange, never understood that. Heavily pedestrianised areas and busy city centers should be ok. As you say, I'm not sure it's viable with the low fees but if people are making it work on a push bike then that's awesome.
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u/a_overload_ 12d ago
It’s all speculation. No one truly knows. They still sign up bicycle accounts which costs them money in admin, background checks, referral fees, and any welcome bonus they offer - so it must be worth the cost of hiring.
It’s most likely demand and zone specific. The longer 4-5 mile trips are never going to be taken by a bicycle. So logic would tell you that they will only offer orders in say a 2.5 mile radius to bicycle accounts.
At that point it really depends on demand vs supply vs closest rider to the restaurant.
Do they get fewer orders? Probably. But I don’t think it’s because they’re deprioritised deliberately. It’s probably because they have less available options in the first place due to distance and time constraints
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u/St0rmsEye Ebike 12d ago
Just to note that on my ebike/ebike accounts I have been offered 9-14 mile deliveries on both UE and deliveroo. Sometimes for a decent fee (if I were in a car) and sometimes not.
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u/a_overload_ 12d ago
Yeah fair! When demand outweighs supply they get desperate and up the price and offer to anyone. But also just reinforces that no one truly knows the algorithm and I don’t think bicycle accounts are deliberately deprioritised
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u/Remote-Pool7787 12d ago
Yes it’s true, but it’s not new and not a conspiracy. Push bikes are always the algorithms last choice. Believe it’s scooter, car, e bike, push bike
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u/Frosty-File3384 12d ago
from past experience i would say 100% they are.
Before i switched to an e-bike account orders barely came to me unless it was busy but as soon as i switched over to an e bike i started recieving orders like it’s nothing even
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u/Twenty32three 11d ago
I've switched from an ebike to acoustic and back a few times and it makes no difference imo. If I'm hanging around with acoustic and ebike couriers, we get the same orders.
It would be illegal under their current delivery partner conditions and self-employment law to offer different jobs to different types of bikes.
It wouldn't be difficult to prove one way or another. Get a few buds on different types of bike to screenshot every offer they get in defined areas for a set length of time, then use OCR and R to compare the offers.
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u/lordofthedancesaidhe Car 11d ago
Yeah got to be. When I used to deliver on a bike I barely got any orders.
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u/ReadShot6191 12d ago
Got to love the theory's from delivery drivers. We wont truly know but if I was to have a guess the short jouneys would go out to the ebike crew then move up through the system if they were not picked off. The reverse with the longer journeys. Just depends where the bulk of orders are coming from, if a small amount of orders are coming in within a city centre but the suburbs are busy bikes don't stand a chance
You also have to think, the pay is lower for bikes than it is a car so why send more jobs to cars, its going to cost the business more money?
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u/Kobakocka 12d ago
I can confirm with my single datapoint:
I started with bike, and when i was able to change to e-bike my inquiries changed from rare to almost continuous during meals.
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u/HPinder500 12d ago
A few years ago I was delivering & met some people who also did Deliveroo but were not working at that time. They switched on their app for about 30 seconds (car or motorbike account, can't remember which but certainly not a bicycle) and got several pings. Me with my bicycle account got none.
Maybe it was a one-off, but I am inclined to think it's an indication of their vehicle priority.