UK Delivery Riders Demand AI Pay Transparency as Fees Fall to £3.42 per Order
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 5
UK Delivery Riders Demand AI Pay Transparency as Fees Fall to £3.42 per Order
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 5
Summary
Edinburgh riders say platform pay has deteriorated as AI-driven job allocation and pricing expanded, with one courier saying he now earns half what he made four years ago for similar hours.
£3.42 was Deliveroo rider Dylan's average fee per order in the first half of 2026, down from £3.67 in 2023, even as his delivery rate held roughly steady at 3.6 to 3.8 orders an hour.
Workers' Observatory researchers say dynamic pricing and opaque matching systems leave riders unable to predict earnings; one Dunfermline test found some workers briefly won higher rates while another was later deactivated.
The dispute reaches beyond food delivery: drivers in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere this week filed a class action in Amsterdam alleging Uber's AI pay and dispatch system breaches data laws and suppresses earnings.
Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat say technology is human-overseen and riders earn above the national living wage while on an order, though that excludes unpaid waiting time between jobs.