In March this year Uber told all delivery drivers that they were ‘improving your experience’ by simplifying the incentive structure.

Previously Uber had used a combination of Boosts (+£X for an order) and Quests (+£Y for completed Z orders). From the 18th March they would be scrapping Boosts and focussing solely on Quests.

Crucially Uber stated that ‘We do not expect average earnings to be impacted’. Here's their communication:

"We are getting in touch to share some upcoming changes we are making in the UK & Ireland to improve your experience delivering with Uber Eats. From Monday 18th March, we will be simplifying our incentives structure, combining Boost and Quest incentives into one type of incentive - Quest.

We do not expect average earnings to be impacted by this change as fees currently paid out by Boost will be reallocated into Quest incentives and other fare components. Upcoming Quest incentives will be communicated in-app, and you will always be able to find any available incentives in the Opportunities section."

Here's what a quest looks like in the app:

What has happened to order fees since Quests were introduced?

We were interested by that last claim so we analysed the numbers for Rodeo users.

The average fee per order from 1st Jan to 18th Mar 2024 was £4.44.

The average fee per order since 19th Mar has been £4.29.

This means there has been a 3.4% decrease in average order fees.

These numbers are based on hundreds of thousands of single (unstacked) orders by Rodeo users.

Has this cut been offset by Quests?

Although there are certainly more Quests now than there were before 18th March (many drivers had assumed these had all but disappeared), the new Quests are not as good as many had hoped.

We estimate that on average Quests now account for 2.1% of drivers’ earnings.

This means that Uber Eats drivers are on average 1.3% worse off since the ‘improvement’. Uber, it seems, ‘expected’ incorrectly.

Rodeo helps independent delivery drivers access, track and analyse their earnings data. Drivers need their data so that they can make informed decisions about their work and manage their personal finances.

Our mission is to enable professional drivers and responsible businesses to access to a transparent, competitive market for delivery services.