Uber Eats is being accused of gutting its drivers' wages in a "confusing" fare restructure - but the company says the change has given more money and transparency to delivery partners.
One driver, who wishes to remain anonymous, says his earnings dropped by 30 to 50 percent almost overnight after the delivery service changed its fares.
"Uber said the new fare structure would be better as it would tell us our minimum earnings upfront," he told Newshub.
"What it has actually meant is a significant loss in earnings."
According to an Uber Eats spokesperson the fee restructure was introduced in July and reflects the estimated time spent making the delivery, not just the distance travelled.
"This means that for two trips of the same distance, a delivery partner may earn more if one trip takes longer to complete, for example, if there is heavy traffic on that route," they told Newshub.
"The previous fare structure was based on a pick-up fee, drop-off fee, and distance travelled - which didn't always evenly reflect the effort or time which went into individual trips."
However, according to the driver, fares have plummeted due to the restructure.
"The price per minute is often not accurately calculated based on actual time waiting in restaurants and traffic. Sometimes you get paid more for waiting in traffic and other times not."
He says the new system is so complex drivers don't even know if they're being paid correctly as "no two trips are ever the same".
The spokesperson says drivers can expect to see changes in their earnings - but they always have the option to decline a job.
"We added more upfront trip information so they can see the minimum earnings (after the Uber service fee), estimated total travel times and distance, restaurant name, and pickup/dropoff location of a trip before they accept."
On top of what he says is an unfair restructure the driver claims all Uber support offices in New Zealand have been closed.
"I have Diamond status with Uber which is supposed to get premium support and it takes a week to just get a reply to any query with them."
However Uber Eats says it has always been committed to offering its drivers 24/7 support "no matter where they drive or deliver".
It's not the first time Uber Eats has faced controversy. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 level 4 lockdown, the delivery service was criticised for initially refusing to drop its 30 to 35 percent commission rate.
Restaurants accused the delivery service of crippling business for them after weeks of no cash flow. Uber Eats did eventually agree to cap its commission at 30 percent, with an option to drop to an 8 percent commission if restaurants used their own staff as drivers.
