Down 22% in four years
Since 2021, bike couriers’ earnings have kept falling. According to Arpe, France’s platform work regulator, hourly earnings for couriers working with Uber Eats and Deliveroo have dropped by 15% to 22.4% on average. This significant decline reflects the constraints of the platforms’ business model.
Waiting time, rarely factored into pay calculations, widens the gap further. Uber Eats, for example, went from 27.7 euros per hour spent on deliveries in 2021 to 20.5 euros in 2024, a telling illustration of the phenomenon.
Four associations, one case before the prosecutors
For the first time, Deliveroo and Uber Eats face a human trafficking complaint filed by several courier associations. At the heart of this legal offensive is a business model described as exploitative towards an extremely precarious workforce.
These associations denounce a precariousness amplified by the systematic use of a workforce drawn from immigration, often without residence permits, and exposed to harsh working conditions.
What Directive 2024/2831 will change
Published in 2024, European Directive 2024/2831 aims to regulate platform work with rules on transparency and algorithmic management. However, it will only take effect from December 2026, leaving a margin of uncertainty about its concrete effects.
A clearer framework could restore a degree of stability for couriers, but its transposition into national law remains a crucial step still to be taken.
Health at risk, an uncertain future
The SANTÉ-COURSE survey reveals that 58.69% of bike couriers have been involved in an accident. That figure rises to 69.11% in Paris, evidence of the daily risks they face. Chronic pain and psychological distress complete an already bleak picture.
These challenges illustrate the flaws of a system which, while touting flexibility, exposes couriers to situations where health and safety often come second.
