One of the most frequently asked questions about driving for Uber Eats is…
“Can someone else ride with me while driving for Uber Eats?”.
In short, is a passenger is allowed to come along on deliveries?
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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.
Suggested: Is Uber safe?
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
Can I Do Uber and Uber Eats at the Same Time?
With Uber and Uber Eats, you can get the best of both worlds.
Through Uber technologies, Uber Eats drivers can toggle between Uber Eats deliveries and Uber rideshare driving, depending on what they’d like to do that day.
This can help food delivery drivers with income if food orders are low.
Can I Work for Two Food Delivery Services at the Same Time?
As contract workers, Uber Eats food delivery drivers are operating their own businesses.
That means they have the freedom to work for Uber Eats as well as food delivery companies such as DoorDash or GrubHub.
Working for multiple food delivery companies can help drivers make the most of their time in case orders on one app are low or if an application is experiencing technical problems.
However, Uber Eats should not pick up an Uber rider while delivering food orders.
This adds up to Uber riders having to smell food during their drive and Uber Eats customers getting late deliveries.
Do You Have to Be an Uber Driver to Drive With Uber Eats?
Not everyone wants to be an Uber rideshare driver, which requires keeping a clean, late-model car and dealing with passengers.
Fortunately for those who are happier driving food than people, you don’t have to be an Uber driver to make Uber Eats deliveries.
However, you do have to meet Uber’s standards for driving.
Uber Eats drivers must be at least 19 years old and have at least one year of driving experience.
Car insurance coverage and vehicle registration are required, and all Uber Eats drivers must pass a background check.
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.
If it’s ok for a driver to have a runner. Why do people complain the photo doesn’t match the runner at the door. Then Uber sends message are you sure this is you delivering ? Driver is the one with Uber profile. Runner is family member helping because driver has a sore back to run up stairs there’s a lot of apartments in our area. It’s in Los Angeles. Please answer.