Uber Eats has become one of the most popular food delivery services. With Uber Eats, customers can order food from participating restaurants and have it delivered right to their door. As an Uber Eats driver, you get paid to pick up orders from restaurants and deliver them to hungry customers. The key to making good money as an Uber Eats driver is finding the busiest areas for orders. Here are some tips on how to determine the best locations to receive constant Uber Eats delivery requests.
Analyze Your City’s Downtown Area
Downtown areas in major cities tend to have high demand for Uber Eats orders throughout the day. Areas with lots of offices and corporate buildings will be especially busy during weekday lunch hours. The downtown nightlife also brings in Uber Eats orders in the evenings and late nights as people get hungry after a night out. Positioning yourself downtown gives you access to a dense area with endless dining options. Monitor the Uber Eats app to see which downtown restaurants seem to get the most orders.
Scope Out College Campuses
College students love the convenience of Uber Eats. Campuses with dorms provide a captive audience of hungry students looking to order food delivery. Not only are the students ordering, but the surrounding off-campus housing and apartments are also full of college-aged Uber Eats users. Set up near large campuses around dinner time for lots of potential orders. You may also get orders earlier in the day as students take study breaks.
Identify Restaurant Clusters
Areas with multiple restaurants in a condensed area tend to be Uber Eats hotspots. Malls and shopping centers with large food courts are great examples. You may also find clusters of fast food and casual dining restaurants along certain commercial strips. Having different options means more customers opening and browsing the Uber Eats app. You can catch orders from whichever restaurant happens to get an order while you wait nearby.
Watch for Big Apartment Complexes
If there are any large apartment or condo complexes in your area, keep an eye out for Uber Eats activity there. Complexes with hundreds of units have many residents who will take advantage of food delivery. At dinnertime or late night, position yourself near the complex entrance to get a jump on any orders coming from those apartments. You can also scout out areas with lots of apartments, condos and townhouses clustered together.
Consider Events and Venues
Certain events and venues attract lots of hungry crowds who will order Uber Eats. Sporting events, concerts, festivals, and conventions draw people from all over. Attendees at these events won’t want to leave to go get food, making Uber Eats the easiest option. If there are major happenings in your city, consider staking out a spot nearby to catch event-goers’ orders. You may luck out with big orders from people ordering to groups or corporate events.
Monitor the App
The Uber Eats app itself can provide important clues about busy areas in your city. Keep an eye out for neighborhoods or zones that seem to light up with orders during mealtimes. You may start to notice patterns of high demand popping up in certain zones more than others. Use this intel to continue focusing your efforts in the most active zones for Uber Eats orders. Don’t forget to check the app at different times of day since busy areas can shift throughout different mealtimes.
Experiment With Positioning
Don’t be afraid to try different locations and find what works for you. While the areas above are good starting points, you may find even better spots through experimentation. Pay attention to restaurants you get lots of pings from and consider staking out spots near just those restaurants. Find where orders take you frequently and return to those neighborhoods when you can. Use your Uber Eats experience to continue honing in on the locations that provide a steady stream of delivery requests.
Following these tips can help Uber Eats drivers find and take advantage of the busiest areas for food delivery orders. Look for dense populations, mealtime crowds, and patterns of demand. With smart positioning and monitoring of your app, you can increase your trips and earnings. Analyze your results and continue optimizing your location over time. Focus on the spots that prove most productive so you can get more pings and make more money delivering with Uber Eats.
