{"id":867676,"date":"2026-08-01T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=867676"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:04:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:04:34","slug":"how-much-money-uber-eats-drivers-can-earn-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/867676\/how-much-money-uber-eats-drivers-can-earn-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"How much money Uber Eats drivers can earn in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Delivery drivers in South Africa could earn up to R5,000 every week, but the job’s dangers make it a risky source of income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-commerce has emerged as a major industry in South Africa, after the COVID-19 pandemic left many people reliant on delivery services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies such as Checkers quickly capitalised on this market, creating a delivery service called Checkers Sixty60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This service focused on grocery delivery, but other companies, such as MrD and Uber Eats, quickly followed with fast-food delivery services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These companies all rely predominantly on motorbike riders to improve cost efficiency and ensure deliveries can be made quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Uber Eats delivery driver and online personality, Gideon Joubert, spoke on<\/a> CapeTalk about his experiences working in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said people driving for Uber Eats can expect to earn up to R5,000 a week if they are willing to work the long hours required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uber Eats and many other delivery services do not directly hire their drivers, leaving it up to drivers how many hours they want to work each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Uber Eats app allows drivers to work up to 12 hours at a time, with a mandatory six-hour break between shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joubert said he spends approximately R650 per week on motorbike rental and roughly R800 per week on petrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many delivery drivers rent their bikes; however, these rental costs are still lower than the cost of renting or owning a car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joubert said these bike rental costs also cover regular maintenance, which could pose a challenge for many drivers who plan to buy vehicles in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fuel costs are also significantly lower when using a delivery bike, which commonly uses around 2-3 litres of fuel per 100 km.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small hatchbacks use around 5-7 litres per 100 km, which is a significant difference for delivery drivers who are on the road for long periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For drivers, using small motorbikes significantly increases their profits on delivery apps such as Uber Eats or MrD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivers for these apps do have the option to use a car, but this significantly affects how much they can earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High risks on the road<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While working as a delivery driver is an easy way for many South Africans to find employment, the profession carries risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motorbikes are significantly more dangerous than cars, with South Africa\u2019s most recent statistics dating back to 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, motorcycles made up approximately 2% of vehicles on the road and were involved in 14 accidents per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were also 183 bike driver deaths during the year, and 508 motorcycle accidents, which led to serious injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This poses a problem for delivery drivers, the majority of whom rely on motorbikes to make their job affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivery drivers also spend a large amount of time on the road and may have to drive in poor weather or at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joubert said delivery drivers face particular challenges when working in the rain, as bikes are prone to losing control due to wet road markings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said there is also a serious risk to delivery drivers posed by other road users, who may become disgruntled with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said drivers will often attempt to block or push delivery bikes as they move through traffic and may also not maintain enough following distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivery drivers also have to account for safety gear, which is often not provided by the services employing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety equipment, such as helmets, jackets, or gloves, can be a significant expense for people looking to start as delivery drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all people on a motorbike are required to wear a helmet in South Africa, other safety equipment is not required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means drivers may lack adequate protection, increasing the risk of injury or death on the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Delivery drivers in South Africa could earn thousands of rands every week, but the dangers of the job make it a risky source of income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":862920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2083553604636406208","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2163638257789907","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18212201227354658","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[17142,25939,17387,11669],"class_list":["post-867676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-capetalk","tag-gideon-joubert","tag-mrd","tag-ubereats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867676"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867724,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867676\/revisions\/867724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}