> Under that model, wouldn't drivers only want to work for the busiest restaurants?
It doesn't take many orders to keep an individual driver busy. Typically the restaurants would manage how many, and which, drivers worked each night. If the night was unexpectedly quiet then a driver might finish early.
> With delivery apps, a restaurant can have just a few orders per night and still be open for delivery.
Yeah, the main benefit of delivery apps is enabling restaurants who primarily serve sit-in diners to deliver also. The overall benefit to delivery focused restaurants is much more tenuous.
> I would bet that there's an order of magnitude more deliveries happening (and drivers working) these days vs pre-Uber.
Perhaps, but if a driver was already busy all night under the previous model, then they're potentially harmed by the current model.
It doesn't take many orders to keep an individual driver busy. Typically the restaurants would manage how many, and which, drivers worked each night. If the night was unexpectedly quiet then a driver might finish early.
> With delivery apps, a restaurant can have just a few orders per night and still be open for delivery.
Yeah, the main benefit of delivery apps is enabling restaurants who primarily serve sit-in diners to deliver also. The overall benefit to delivery focused restaurants is much more tenuous.
> I would bet that there's an order of magnitude more deliveries happening (and drivers working) these days vs pre-Uber.
Perhaps, but if a driver was already busy all night under the previous model, then they're potentially harmed by the current model.