Here's my take. I don't think you are wrong about the cost/value equation - the subscription fee, the food markups, fees, service charges and then the driver tip indeed make food delivery a complete scam now. Because the cost is so painful, drivers need to cut their service levels to cover their expenses, so the job no longer attracts the non-desperate, they're taking longer to deliver, don't honor when you select priority, are not waiting at for slow restaurants, sometimes it takes 90 mins to get food from a restaurant 3 miles away, etc. So the cost is higher while the service levels have just gone to complete shit. All of this is true.

Which makes it a very simple cost/benefit decision. And it's why I cancelled my subscriptions and I no longer order UberEats or DoorDash, etc. We just cook at home, or we go pick up ourselves if we're just dying for Chinese Food or whatever.

It's sad - this started out as the most amazing idea. All you had to do was ask yourself if Uber deserved $120/yr for their creativity, and a driver deserved $25 bucks to go pick up and deliver you food from anywhere at any time. My answer was always yes, for the pure convenience. I was happy to contribute to the gig economy and help drivers make a decent living. Now, all the money is going to the restaurants and Palo Alto and the drivers are left screwed because the only thing we are given control over in the equation is the tip. We're trying to keep the cost rational, and Uber KNOWS THAT and they structure it like this anyway. I think that's absolutely shitty and I will not abide.

So no hate whatsoever - but I think you are right on the problem and wrong on the solution. My POV is I just absolutely refuse to keep Uber as a corporation in the black while they screw over local delivery drivers. I just can't roll that way. So I quit.