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Incredibly US-centric comment and responses. If you think delivery is unsustainable because cars cost money, I got news for you: You live in a bubble, and it's

Incredibly US-centric comment and responses. If you think delivery is unsustainable because cars cost money, I got news for you: You live in a bubble, and it's the cars that are unsustainable. Outside of the car-centric world of US suburbia, most of the western world is actually doing deliveries on scooters and ebikes, which are very quick to navigate medium-to-high-density cities and can do several deliveries per trip. I've ordered a lot on Takeaway, at least once a week on average. The last time I saw somebody pull up in a car was during the COVID lockdowns, and I suspect it's because there was basically nobody on the streets. The business model is broken, because car-centrism is broken. In the civilized world, things are ok. Either way, fuck Uber. There's better alternatives.

WheatM 4y ago
wizofaus 4y ago
Are food deliveries in densely populated US cities really done using cars? Why? All e-bikes/scooters here (city of >5 mil in Aus).
- ska 4y ago
  > densely populated US cities Many big US cities really aren't densely populated. e,g, including 2 of the 4 largest: LA & Houston.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    Which is why I specified that. Outside of the inner 15km radius big cities in Australia aren't at all densely populated either, and cars probably are used for delivery there. But 90% of the deliveries I observe are in that radius!
- jackson1442 4y ago
  In Seattle, all of my DoorDash deliveries were people using cars.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    Having spent a few days in downtown seattle that surprises me, I can't think why a delivery driver would choose to use a car over something smaller.
    - lief79 4y ago
      I'd guess rain. There's only a few dry summer months.
      - wizofaus 4y ago
        Seattle ain't the only place in the world it rains a fair bit! And I gather it's rarely particularly heavy rain.
    - jackson1442 4y ago
      Might be because I was specifically ordering from places that _weren't_ downtown. Like many others on the thread, I don't particularly care for the delivery services so I really only use them to grab things where it's infeasible for me to go get them myself. With public transit, getting food downtown was easy so I was ordering from places out to the east.
    - alistairSH 4y ago
      They probably already have a car.
      - wizofaus 4y ago
        I'm sure plenty of food delivery drivers have cars here too, but the cost/ parking/traffic issues involved in using one for such deliveries in a higher density metropolis make them kind of impractical...
2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
Are the other companies better? Which ones have you used? I used UberEats once (in Sydney) because I had one of those coupons. UberEats was garbage. Cost too much and I could have gone to the place myself and returned in half the time.
- scrollaway 4y ago
  Takeaway is really nice in Europe IMO. I’ve also used Deliveroo and they are okay but less popular where I live. I can’t advice beyond that but Uber is awful awful awful. Every time I give them a chance I regret it, be it on price, support, ethics, quality …
pmelendez 4y ago
> Incredibly US-centric comment and responses. Just because you might have a different experience doesn't mean this is US centric. The same happens across Canada and in several big cities in South America.
- scrollaway 4y ago
  If you can demonstrate that the comment I was replying to was talking about South America, give me your address and I will snail mail you a cookie.
troyvit 4y ago
To your point about US suburbia, I'm not sure how it is in other big cities but I was blown away my first visit to Manhattan from suburbia when I realized that almost all the bikes parked on sidewalks were for delivery drivers. There were some amazing rigs. They'd tape over any identifying characteristic of the bike and fasten all sorts of hand warmers to the handle bars (everything from oven mitts to plastic bags). I got to travel to Manhattan for work for several years and it was neat watching the transition from bike, to retro-fitted e-bike, etc. I ... think I'm calling NYC part of the "civilized world" and I'm not sure how to feel.
- scrollaway 4y ago
  I agree with your comment, NYC is quite special (Manhattan at any rate). I remember seeing a map of the US denoting whether the majority of commute was done by personal car vs public transport. The entirety of the US was by personal car… except for NYC. It had a bit of an Astérix feel to it.

WheatM 4y ago

wizofaus 4y ago

Are food deliveries in densely populated US cities really done using cars? Why? All e-bikes/scooters here (city of >5 mil in Aus).

ska 4y ago
> densely populated US cities Many big US cities really aren't densely populated. e,g, including 2 of the 4 largest: LA & Houston.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  Which is why I specified that. Outside of the inner 15km radius big cities in Australia aren't at all densely populated either, and cars probably are used for delivery there. But 90% of the deliveries I observe are in that radius!
jackson1442 4y ago
In Seattle, all of my DoorDash deliveries were people using cars.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  Having spent a few days in downtown seattle that surprises me, I can't think why a delivery driver would choose to use a car over something smaller.
  - lief79 4y ago
    I'd guess rain. There's only a few dry summer months.
    - wizofaus 4y ago
      Seattle ain't the only place in the world it rains a fair bit! And I gather it's rarely particularly heavy rain.
  - jackson1442 4y ago
    Might be because I was specifically ordering from places that _weren't_ downtown. Like many others on the thread, I don't particularly care for the delivery services so I really only use them to grab things where it's infeasible for me to go get them myself. With public transit, getting food downtown was easy so I was ordering from places out to the east.
  - alistairSH 4y ago
    They probably already have a car.
    - wizofaus 4y ago
      I'm sure plenty of food delivery drivers have cars here too, but the cost/ parking/traffic issues involved in using one for such deliveries in a higher density metropolis make them kind of impractical...

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago

Are the other companies better? Which ones have you used? I used UberEats once (in Sydney) because I had one of those coupons. UberEats was garbage. Cost too much and I could have gone to the place myself and returned in half the time.

scrollaway 4y ago
Takeaway is really nice in Europe IMO. I’ve also used Deliveroo and they are okay but less popular where I live. I can’t advice beyond that but Uber is awful awful awful. Every time I give them a chance I regret it, be it on price, support, ethics, quality …

pmelendez 4y ago

> Incredibly US-centric comment and responses. Just because you might have a different experience doesn't mean this is US centric. The same happens across Canada and in several big cities in South America.

scrollaway 4y ago
If you can demonstrate that the comment I was replying to was talking about South America, give me your address and I will snail mail you a cookie.

troyvit 4y ago

To your point about US suburbia, I'm not sure how it is in other big cities but I was blown away my first visit to Manhattan from suburbia when I realized that almost all the bikes parked on sidewalks were for delivery drivers. There were some amazing rigs. They'd tape over any identifying characteristic of the bike and fasten all sorts of hand warmers to the handle bars (everything from oven mitts to plastic bags). I got to travel to Manhattan for work for several years and it was neat watching the transition from bike, to retro-fitted e-bike, etc. I ... think I'm calling NYC part of the "civilized world" and I'm not sure how to feel.

scrollaway 4y ago
I agree with your comment, NYC is quite special (Manhattan at any rate). I remember seeing a map of the US denoting whether the majority of commute was done by personal car vs public transport. The entirety of the US was by personal car… except for NYC. It had a bit of an Astérix feel to it.