If you are ordering late-night munchies next week, get ready for a price hike to your Uber Eats bill in BC.
Uber Eats will now charge $2 more for each order. The company said the increase is needed to offset the provincial government’s new policies.
New regulations will take effect on September 3, and the government said that it will improve the wage and labour conditions of app-based ride-hailing and delivery workers.
The BC government announced in the spring that changes were coming following meetings and information sessions with stakeholders. The changes would apply to those who work for apps such as Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, DoorDash, and others.
The new regulations will set the minimum wage for app-based gig workers at $20.88, which is 120% of BC’s general minimum wage, and will rise annually at the rate of inflation.
Plus, a minimum per-km vehicle allowance will also be required to compensate workers for their vehicle operating costs. Additionally, workers will be covered through WorkSafeBC’s workers’ compensation program.
Drivers will also get to see how much the trip will be before accepting it.
“At the end of a shift, after paying their vehicle expenses, these workers are barely ahead of where they started. The new protections are going to change that,” said Janet Routledge, BC’s parliamentary secretary for labour, in a statement.
Uber
The move has been criticized by Uber, who said it supports the majority of the regulations, but still takes issues with the rate, which is a $0.45 per km expense standard for rideshare kilometres or $0.35 per km expense standard for delivery kilometres during active time.
“We continue to have concerns about the incredibly expensive mileage expense rate set by the BC government, especially in the middle of an affordability crisis.”
In addition, the company said it’s concerned that if fewer people are ordering food, it will mean fewer jobs for workers.
“When fees increase, price-sensitive consumers order less which results in fewer orders for merchants and fewer earning opportunities for delivery people. We will monitor the impact of the expense allowance on consumers, merchants, and delivery people,” it said.
Uber said another change for online deliveries will be a switch in when customers can tip.
“British Columbians will also now be prompted to tip delivery people during or after delivery, similar to how tipping in other industries work. Previously, tipping was available upfront but the new estimated upfront earnings calculation now excludes tips. As always, 100% of all tips are provided to the delivery person,” it added.
Let us know your thoughts on the Uber Eats $2 fee in BC in the comments.
With files from Kenneth Chan