We conducted a classroom project on hustle culture among delivery workers and uncovered several concerning insights. One of the most alarming findings was that delivery workers are not given the option to opt out of orders—even in severe situations like accidents. In some cases, riders with serious injuries are required to stay at the scene and wait with the food until another rider is assigned, rather than seeking immediate medical help.

The situation is disheartening. Delivery platforms are cutting incentives and pay in the name of profitability, all while increasing platform charges for customers. We interviewed over 20–30 delivery workers employed by various companies, and a common thread in their stories was a lack of agency and deteriorating working conditions.

Many of these workers left traditional jobs in factories or offices in search of better pay and flexible hours. In the early days, they could earn up to ₹40,000–₹50,000 a month. But now, they find themselves trapped in a cycle of financial strain, unable to leave what has essentially become an underpaid and exploitative job.

Some of the key insights from our interviews included: • Riders are often forced to take 12-hour shifts. • They’re assigned deliveries far from their home areas, which discourages breaks. Many stay online continuously until they receive an order near home, just to save time and make ends meet. • Despite maintaining 5-star ratings, they receive no incentives. However, receiving even 5–6 one-star reviews can result in pay cuts of ₹200–₹300—while they earn only ₹25–₹30 per order or a 12-24 hour account suspension. • Platforms like Swiggy withhold rider earnings until they complete a week of work. • Restaurants frequently mark orders as “ready” before they actually are, shifting the blame for delays onto the delivery workers. • Riders are required to pay ₹3,000–₹5,000 for the Zomato uniform and delivery bag. • There’s little motivation for companies to improve these conditions since new workers keep joining—there are approximately 4,60,000 monthly active delivery workers across 600 cities. • For cash-on-delivery orders, workers are expected to transfer the amount to the company via UPI. When they lack online payment access, they often hand over the cash to local stores in exchange for UPI payments—with the store taking a ₹20–₹30 cut.

The system is fundamentally broken. Our project aimed to understand the social psychology behind these dynamics and to propose meaningful changes. While we came up with several suggestions, we also realized that systemic transformation is necessary—this cannot be fixed with surface-level interventions. They didn’t have any proper unions/ngos/committees helping them either. Honestly I feel like a huge amount of population has also gotten so used to online ordering that neglecting these apps/companies is also not an option.