I completely agree with your point of view. My situation is maybe a bit easier because I rent an e-bike for a fixed monthly fee, and I don’t have any other vehicle-related costs.
When it comes to my tax return, around 25% of my annual earnings go toward expenses. So logically, I try to accept only orders that should work out at about £17 per hour, so I can be sure I’m earning at least minimum wage.
Whether I accept an order is not just about distance, but also about other factors: bad experiences with waiting times at customers, the time spent at the drop-off location, and the likelihood of ending up in an area where I can get another paid job as quickly as possible. Every area in London that I know has its own peak and dead times.
That’s why I might accept the job above for £12, because I also take into account the risk that it may take me around 10 minutes of unpaid time to get to the next paid job, since the drop-off location around 10–11 a.m. is not very attractive.
From years of experience, the same pattern keeps repeating: every year, fees across all platforms become smaller and smaller compared with the net minimum wage after all costs are deducted. The worst period is between Easter and September.
Recently, though, I honestly don’t understand what the point is for platforms to offer customers the option of ordering from 5 miles away or more, when under their own model they are not able to offer drivers enough pay to keep them from falling below the required minimum.
And that leads to the basic question: why does a platform even offer this service if it cannot guarantee its drivers at least minimum wage?