If you are over 50 would you deliver takeaways?

[Bluebellbike]

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/over-50s-could-take-takeaway-27449088

The government seem very keen on getting those of us over 50 to carry on working.

That actually sounds pretty good as a job. Are you in a city? Would you say it pays well enough?

Largely a sedentary job.

I work full time but couldn't deliver takeaways by bike full time. My back would give up after a few days.

@Samlewis96 how do you manage lunch hour traffic and parking? Isn’t that stressful? Also, from what you describe you’re on a zero hours contract, low paid?

Delivery driving by car is totally different. I could do that. But delivery round here is all done by. People on push bikes.

@jenbj I agree with you, if I needed to I would just get on with it.

@SuperGinger not many over fifty could manage full time bike delivery work. Cycling on a deadline for nearly forty hours a week is tough. Which is why even young people doing it are mainly doing a few evenings.

Not quite the same but all my Waitrise delivery guys are retirees doing a couple of days a week, then playing golf the rest of the week. They are in their 70s!

The bikers aged over 50 are more likely to have bigger, faster, better motorbikes. And if all those I know aged over 50, they don't slow down, it's like a competition, who can ride certain roads in the quickest time. It's far more dangerous than doing deliveries! They would find delivering on a moped extremely frustrating.

Waitrose delivery guys driving vans for a small number of hours a week is a world away from working full time delivering takeaways on a bike.

All takeaways in my city are delivered by pushbike. I am guessing the companies refuse to pay mileage petrol costs so bikes are the only transport that makes economic sense.

Lunchtime traffic? Not really an issue I live in a smallish town not a city. Because I live there I know where I can park. Have been self employed anyway since 2008 so no issues on zero hours contracts. All normal to me and its 4 different companies I actually work for. So increases chances of work. Besides I have minimal expenses ( no mortgage etc ) and always lived fairly frugally ( flights are my main expense) . Don't really do" stuff" which eats up lots of people's income. My kids are all grown . So I need the flexibility rather than a high income. No idea what I'd spend on if I earned loads of money tbh

It is very unusual to get sandwiches delivered by car in a small town. Do you not have deliveroo or Uber eats? Or are you outside the UK.

Live in smallish commuter town. Pays enough for what I need Certainly make more than someone doing harder work as a care assistant on minimum wage for example . And I choose my times and cherry pick my deliveries

I'm well over 50 and i might consider delivering a few parcels for extra spends round xmas but not raging round with food and getting load of grief if it's cold or the wrong order . No thanks .

Really? I'm in Essex. Costa Gails bakery wenzels Greggs Bagel Shop plus independent bakeries are all regular morning drops. Not unusual to be delivering a single cup of coffee to people at their homes either

I have literally never seen a job available like indigos in the city I live. Good luck to her, but it is not the norm.
The big delivery companies are Uber eats and deliveroo. They pay per delivery and not enough to run a car. It's why its people on pushbikes doing it.

And I'm delivering them for uber eats just eats and deliveroo. It's not all young foreign guys on bikes you know. Have a few car drivers that doing weekend shifts that work in London in offices in the week. Although they are younger than me

@Samlewis96 I am not saying deliveries are uncommon. I am saying the delivery payment in the gig economy is too low to do it by car. If you did these deliveries by car most places you would earn way below minimum wage.

Okay they must be desperate financially then. It's hard enough to make enough money doing deliveries on a pushbike with the extra costs of a car and difficulty parking.

Well I do the deliveries by car and do make over minimum wage. I think it be harder in London or other big cities as insurance would cost much more and be more parking issues ( don't go to Brentwood much due to no parking). Friday for example I got £130 . Used roughly a tenner of diesel. A days insurance works out £2.40. That was 7.5 hours

Oh and about £9 cash tips on top( ones through app included)

Sounds good!

How many deliveries did you make to earn £130 in 7.5 hours? Delivery charge is normally about £3.

We don't get paid the same as what the customer pays the company you know I very rarely take any delivery that is less than a £5. I've added a small screenshot of a few orders so u see

I'm retiring at 55, and my post-retirement plans involve a lot of sitting around on my fat arse, doing whatever the hell I like with my time, and eventually dying. They do not include any sort of paid work, because I've already done more than enough of that, so the government can do and say what they like, but it won't make the blindest bit of difference to me.

Doing away with the notion that people absolutely must retire completely at pensionable age is a good thing, but there needs to be freedom of choice in every respect. Nobody should feel they must work beyond pension age when they would rather not, and nobody who retires earlier should feel compelled to work either.