- Published on
【Uber Eats】Reiwa Hackers - Uber Eats Edition-
In a nutshell
- A strange phenomenon among the delivery partners of the food delivery revolutionary, Uber Eats.
- The benefits of combining rental bicycles and Uber Eats to start delivering anywhere empty-handed.
- Just as Twitter was invented as a dedicated tool for reading celebrity comments instead of a microblogging SNS, hackers in every era invent new ways to use things.
A hack of using rental bicycles is trending among Uber Eats delivery partners
Recently, the food delivery service Uber Eats has been in the news. This is because a delivery partner was found to have dumped a soupy dish in a shared area.
Improving the service is an urgent task, but I don't want to discuss ethics. I believe that the collapse of ethics is a pain that comes with the social change of the "gig economy," which has made it possible for anyone to become a delivery partner.
The gig economy is a new economic form invented after Uber. Specifically, it refers to an economic form in which people take on one-off jobs online and earn income on a piece-rate basis.
What's more interesting is the invention of various tricks within the delivery partner community. The following Note is very interesting. It shows that small inventions are constantly being made. For example, the double pick. Delivery delay: Regarding the trouble where an Uber Eats delivery partner left Mr. Ishino's tsukemen noodles unattended
The fact that Uber specifies a double pick may indicate that there is a shortage of delivery partners, and they have determined that it is more efficient to have one person carry two items.
A double pick, simply put, is when you go to two restaurants and carry two orders at the same time.
Meanwhile, in urban areas, a hack of delivering empty-handed on a rental bicycle (for some reason, it's usually NTT Docomo's red bicycles, lol) instead of one's own bicycle seems to be trending, mainly among university students. I see it all the time in Ebisu. 
Quoted from "Minato-ku Bicycle Sharing"
The benefits of combining rental bicycles and Uber Eats
I don't know who invented it, but this is a well-thought-out hack.
First of all, you don't have to start delivering from home by bicycle. This is probably a plan to rent a bicycle during the daytime in the business district, when Uber Eats orders are concentrated, and make a lot of money by completing short-distance deliveries all at once.
It also saves on the cost of purchasing and maintaining a bicycle. The Minato-ku bicycle sharing service costs 150 yen for 30 minutes. A monthly membership costs 2,000 yen for unlimited use. Considering the maintenance costs of one's own bicycle and other benefits, the cost performance is good.
Quoted from "Minato-ku Bicycle Sharing"
Furthermore, this bicycle has a basket and is electrically assisted. While some delivery partners train and deliver on cross bikes, it seems that delivery partners who carry their deliveries on motor-assisted bicycles that can easily go up hills have also appeared.
Twitter was also invented. In every era, hackers who master the tools appear.
Hackers appear in every era. Twitter is one of them.
It is often characterized by its 140-character limit, but that is not what made it popular. In fact, it is inconvenient. The reason it became popular was that it was very convenient for sharing information on-site at a live event called SXSW. In other words, it was invented by users.
Another reason it went viral is that it was an accidental invention that met the need to read comments from famous people, not just users who were tweeting. Twitter also noticed this trend and created Tweetdeck specifically for readers. https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/
There is also the old story that the person who sold shovels during the Gold Rush made the most money. In every era, hackers who do things well appear.
The gig economy is currently a lawless zone. It is very interesting to observe what kind of hacks will be born and whether they will be allowed and become vested interests.
Aside (Recommended Book)
A recommended design book. It's packed with design tips that you can use forever. I use it often myself.
