Hannibal Darby, a ride-hailing driver from New York, discussed how easy it was for him to start driving for Uber Eats and how he got into other delivery apps.
Darby runs a YouTube channel called Hannibal is Hungry, through which he shares videos related to the gig economy. Darby creates videos aimed at helping his 3.26k subscribers excel in gig economy work.
"I always see, I'll be in New York City. You see tons of delivery, and delivery guys and girls out there every day," Darby told Flexible Work News. "It is something I just never really dawned on me to do until the pandemic hit and actually a month before the pandemic, I was like, I was let go of my W2 job. And during the summer, I realized I need to make some money and I have a vehicle. So my first thought was Uber Eats. [...] I got it approved, maybe within a few days, and I kind of went out. And it's a really quick way to make money and you pay your bills and, you know, just keep going."
Darby says the pandemic was a motivating factor to start being a ride-hailing driver.
"Because, as I had my dog boarding and dog walking business during a lockdown in New York City, there was nowhere to walk it," Darby said. "There (were) no dogs to be walked. Everyone is at home. Everyone is, you know, dealing with what they had to deal with, so I needed to make money. So yeah, Uber Eats is the first app that I use, and that app was, you know, what got me going to be able to keep me to be able to support my family. And then I just started to apply for more apps and start to learn more about gig work in general, at least full time gig work."
As of April 2021, Gallup estimated that the number of gig workers had risen to 36% of the US workforce or about 59 million Americans. The same Gallup report estimates that 29% of all U.S. workers are doing gig work as their primary job.
A 2015 report by The Hamilton Project stated that as the post-Great Recession market continues to recover, on-demand gig work benefits workers and the economy by supporting job growth and personal income.
The authors of the report pointed out that the gig economy offers flexibility, minimal training costs and low barriers to enter the workforce, allowing workers to supplement their incomes as needed or to create an income for themselves. Likewise, the report stated that customers benefit from services offered by gig workers and the low costs associated with them.