What Are the Worst Days and Times to Do Uber Eats?

Key Points:

• Mondays and Tuesdays are usually the worst days to do Uber Eats.
• Weekends between 5 pm and 9 pm are busiest days for Uber Eats.
• Summer is slow because of more delivery competition and more people going out to eat, instead of ordering in.

Click here to start delivering for Uber Eats

Uber Eats is a great way to earn money on the side or even to replace a full-time job, but earnings can be very uneven. There are certain days and times when everyone is ordering and drivers can barely keep up with demand, and others when you may find yourself sitting around for hours.

Quick tip: you can get cash back every time you fill up your gas tank by using the Upside app. It's free and pays out straight to your bank.

It can be difficult to tell sometimes whether it will be a good day or not on UberEats before you start driving. However, after some experience and sharing stories with other drivers, you can usually figure out when are the worst days to do Uber Eats.

Here is a quick guide to the best and worst times to get out there and deliver food.

What Are the Slowest Days for Uber Eats?

The slowest days for UberEats are earlier in the week. Most drivers say that they have the lowest earnings on Tuesdays. It’s hard to know why, but chances are that most people still have the energy to cook that early in the week and don’t want to splurge on delivery.

Mondays are also one of the worst days to do UberEats. Many restaurants close on Mondays because it’s been known as a slow day in the hospitality business, so customers have fewer options and often opt not to order delivery at all.

Sometimes, days that are slow in one location may be busy in another. For example, Sundays can be slow in one part of town, but the demand for Sunday brunch can be sky-high in another neighbourhood.

Sundays are also a good day to deliver around college campuses to cater to hungover students.

If you find you’re just not getting enough orders, you can also look into running multiple apps to make up some of the shortfalls by delivering for other services like Skip The Dishes or Doordash and others during slow periods.

But on the other hand…

On the other hand, you might find the “slow” days are the ones delivery people take off – meaning potentially more trips you do.

Also, my experience has been that people tip about the same any day of the week, and since tips make up around half of what you earn, more orders usually mean more tips regardless of the day.

YourDriverMike on the worst times to drive for food delivery.

What Are the Busiest Days for Uber Eats?

The busiest days for Uber Eats are the weekends, particularly during the dinner rush between 5 pm and 9 pm.
Many people like to relax on the weekends instead of cooking, or they may be gathering with friends and want to get a restaurant meal to celebrate. If you extend your delivery period late into the night, you’ll get a lot of requests for snacks from drunk or high people.
Weekdays toward the end of the week are also quite busy. Many people lose energy for cooking or meal prepping by Thursday or Friday, so they order delivery instead. That is when you can also get a good deal on the lunch rush as office workers get tired of their packed lunches and decide to try something new.
Of course, most food delivery people figure this out pretty quickly, so you might find a lot of completion during these popular times.

Is Uber Eats Slow in the Summer?

The season can also affect the volume of Uber Eats orders you receive, depending on where you live.
Most drivers report that they are far busier in the winter.
There are a couple of reasons why driving for Uber Eats is much more profitable in the winter than in the summer. The first is the weather. People don’t want to go outside when it is cold or snowy, so that they will order delivery instead.
Another factor is how busy the area around you gets during different seasons. Many people go on vacation during summer so that you won’t get as much business from office workers during their lunch breaks. Schools and universities are closed, so delivering around campus won’t be lucrative.
There are still deliveries to make during the summer, but Uber Eats is much slower then.
In Toronto, I found a LOT of people doing food delivery during July and August and into September. I’ve been out some evenings where people are doing Uber Eats on every kind of two-wheeled vehicle and lots on foot too. If you’re going to stay out on busy days like this, have a look at some things to do when you’re not getting food orders.

Other Factors That Affect Delivery Volume

Besides the date, time, and season, a few other factors can affect how many orders you get.

The weather is one of them. Uber Eats drivers can get extremely busy when it is raining or snowing. That is because most people don’t want to go outside when the weather is bad. You can make a lot of money by braving the storm, but be sure that your vehicle is safe enough to drive during that time!

Certain holidays are also a good time to deliver Uber Eats. While you may not get much business during Thanksgiving and Christmas because most people are at home with their families, other holidays such as Valentine’s Day cause a surge in orders.

Many drivers report more food orders during the general holiday period, such as the days right before Thanksgiving or the early weeks of December. Many people are busy preparing the big holiday meal or attending to other obligations, so they don’t have time to cook as often.

Finding the Best Times to Deliver for Uber Eats

These are the general rules of thumb for figuring out the best times to deliver for Uber Eats. The app tends to be busiest during lunch and dinner rushes during the weekends and toward the end of the week. Mondays and Tuesdays are some of the worst days to do Uber Eats.

Click here to start delivering for Uber Eats

Save on gas & groceries: the Upside app gives you cash back when you fill up your tank, buy groceries, or eat out.

However, this may vary based on other factors such as the weather, any holidays, or even your location. It may take some trial and error, but you’ll soon work out when your services are in demand.