Can Someone Else Ride With Me While Driving For Uber Eats?

Can Someone Else Ride With Me While Driving For Uber Eats?

Yes, somebody can ride with you while you are delivering for Uber Eats.

Uber and Lyft drivers are required to go solo when picking up passengers, but the rules are different for delivery drivers for Uber Eats, Postmates, and DoorDash.

Since these drivers don’t have paying customers in their cars, they can have passengers with them while they make food deliveries.

Why Some Drivers Want Someone to Ride Along

There are plenty of reasons why an Uber Eats delivery driver might want to have a passenger along with them. Here are some of the reasons Uber Eats drivers cite the most for having a passenger with them.

1. For Convenience

For Uber Eats drivers with children, being able to pick them up after school or take them to their grandparents’ home or a friend’s house while they’re making deliveries makes their lives easier.

A flexible schedule is one of the perks of making deliveries for Uber Eats.

2. For Company

Uber Eats drivers may find their food delivery job a little lonely.

Having a friend along with them provides conversation and company during the morning, afternoon, or evening of making Uber Eats deliveries.

3. For Safety

Many Uber Eats drivers say they don’t feel safe driving alone at night.

Seeing new stories like the Uber Eats driver recently killed, or the Lyft driver that shot carjackers doesn’t help either.

Having a passenger along can make a lone driver less of a target.

A friend or family member can make sure an Uber Eats driver gets to and from each drop-off safely.

Passenger Rules with Uber Eats

If you are going to have someone riding with you when delivering for Uber Eats, you’ll need to follow a few Uber Eats passenger rules.

These are a bit different than the Uber rules rideshare passengers and drivers must follow, but they are still very important to know and understand.

1. Correctly Set the Driver App

Whether you have a passenger in your car while delivering Uber eats or not, setting the Uber Eats driver app correctly is important.

Make sure you are available for work when looking for Uber Eats orders and set your Uber Eats app accordingly.

Don’t write off personal mileage related to passengers as part of your Uber Eats job.

2. Follow Some Good Practices

Uber Eats drivers should always follow best practices for using the food delivery app.

These include the following.

3. Don’t Drive Distracted

If you have a passenger with you when delivering for Uber Eats, don’t let them distract you while you are driving.

There are many facts about texting and driving, and after taking one read through those, it is clear this type of driving is unsafe.

Keep your focus on the road and drive safely.

4. Follow Traffic Rules

Uber Eats drivers should always follow traffic laws such as observing road signs and driving within the speed limit.

Safety should be an Uber Eats driver’s first priority.

5. Don’t Put Passengers to Work

While you have a passenger with you, make sure that you as the Uber Eats contract worker are the one picking up orders and paying for them with the Uber Eats card as well as making the Uber Eats delivery.  

How Could Things Go Wrong?

There are several ways that having passengers with you when delivering for Uber Eats could go wrong.

Here are a few of the most common ways that things could go wrong on Uber Eats deliveries.

1. Accidents

Having a car accident when driving for Uber Eats can happen whether you have a passenger or not.

In case of an accident, call the police, and then call Uber to report the crash.

Save paperwork involved including police reports, medical bills, and insurance information, and take photos of the damage.

2. Distracted Driving

If your passengers are distracting you while driving, having them along is unsafe.

Make sure that your focus is on traveling safely while picking up and delivering orders.  

3. Letting a Passenger Make a Delivery

Your customers will be expecting you, not your passenger, to make their deliveries.

Seeing someone completely different with their food might be confusing or even frightening for customers.

That might lead to lower tips or complaints.

Your passenger doesn’t work for Uber Eats and doesn’t have the training you do.

Remember that you are the Uber Eats contract worker.

4. Bad Experiences for Customers

Remember that your job as an Uber Eats driver is to provide great services to your customers.

If having a passenger with you while delivering for Uber Eats interferes with that, then don’t bring a passenger along.

A negative experience could result in a bad Uber Eats customer rating, and enough low ratings can result in deactivation from the app.

Why Should Food Delivery Companies Care About Passengers?

Food delivery companies care about their customers’ experience and their employees’ safety.

As long as having a passenger isn’t impacting customer service or making the delivery driver unsafe, most food delivery companies don’t mind if passengers are in your care while you deliver Uber Eats or DoorDash orders.

Some Uber Eats drivers say their passengers help by navigating on routes.

Other Questions About Uber Eats

The Bottom Line

Just because you can bring a passenger along while delivering for Uber Eats doesn’t mean you should.

While Uber Eats does allow passengers to ride with their drivers on food deliveries, if they are a distraction or interfere with order delivery, then having them along isn’t best.

Having passengers along can make Uber Eats drivers feel safer, especially when making deliveries at night.

They also can be great company, making conversation that will make an Uber Eats shift pass by more quickly.

For parents who deliver for Uber Eats, having the ability to give their children rides home from school or to sports practice is one of the perks of working in the gig economy.

Friends and family members can drive with you while you’re delivering for Uber Eats, but make sure that having passengers with you doesn’t interfere with your deliveries or your safety.

Professional behavior is always an Uber Eats requirement.