Why Is Uber Eats So Slow?

If you’re wondering why Uber Eats is so slow, this post can help you understand what’s going on. There are two groups of people who may be interested in understanding why Uber Eats is so slow. These include the following:

You may be an Uber Eats driver and are wondering why you aren’t receiving any orders.
You may be an Uber Eats customer and are wondering why you are waiting so long for your order to be delivered.

At the outset, for drivers, most of the reasons why Uber Eats is so slow will be related to when you’re delivering. It’s likely going to be slowest if you’re delivering during off-peak hours or when too many Uber Eats drivers are signed in compared to the number of customers ordering Uber Eats.

For customers, the main reason why it might take a while for your order to be delivered is if the payout for your order is so low that drivers don’t want to accept your order. Your delivery can also be slow if it’s very busy and restaurants or the driver have a lot of orders to complete.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the question of why is Uber Eats so slow.

I’m A Driver – Why Is Uber Eats So Slow?

There are four main reasons why things might be slow when you’re delivering for Uber Eats. These include the following:

You’re delivering during non-peak hours.
The Uber Eats app is down.
You’re not in a busy area.
There are too many Uber Eats drivers signed in.

Let’s address each of these reasons in turn.

1. You’re Delivering During Non-Peak Hours

When you think about it, food delivery is predictable. People order food during two main times – lunch and dinner. For the most part, if you want to stay as busy as possible, you should stick to doing deliveries during the lunch and dinner rushes. That means you should focus on working between 11 am and 1 pm, and from 5 pm to 8 pm. I generally stick to working only during these prime hours so that I don’t waste my time sitting around.

In terms of bad times to deliver, this is my experience. Mornings are typically slow on Uber Eats, as people don’t order breakfast as often as they order lunch or dinner. While this might differ depending on your market, I’ve rarely had much luck with Uber Eats during the morning hours.

Mid-afternoon is also a bad time to dash. Again, you can understand why by thinking about eating patterns. Most people eat during lunch or dinner, so they’re not going to be ordering a lot of food during the mid-afternoon.

The main exception is during weekends when people seem to order food at any hour of the day. On Saturday and Sunday, you can generally stay busy throughout the day. In addition, if there is a special event happening, that can change when you might want to start delivering. For example, during the Super Bowl or other big sporting events, it can be busy right before the game starts.

2. The Uber Eats App Is Down

If things are slow and you’re logged in during peak hours, it’s possible the Uber Eats app is down. Compared to DoorDash, the Uber Eats app doesn’t go down too often, but it can happen.

There are a few ways you can check to see if the Uber Eats app is down. The first place I usually look is the Uber Eats Twitter account. If the app is down, they’ll usually let you know there. You can also search on Twitter for Uber Eats to see if other people are complaining about the app being down.

Another good place to check is the Uber Eats subreddit. If the app is down, you’ll probably find people talking about it there as well.

3. You’re Not Working In A Busy Area

If you find that Uber Eats is slow for you, it might be because you’re not in a busy area. The Uber Eats app will show you where the busy areas are in your city. Busy areas will be highlighted in dark colors in the app.

These busy zones aren’t perfect by any means, but they should give you a general idea of where you’ll likely receive the most orders. In general, you want to head towards busy downtown areas and areas with a lot of young people. Neighborhoods with young professionals are usually busy. College campuses are also generally busy. If you’re fortunate to live in an area like this, you can even get orders without having to leave your house (I live in a busy area, so I can sit on my couch and wait for orders).

I find I have the most success in college areas, but your area may differ on which is the best area.

4. There Are Too Many Uber Eats Drivers Logged In

There’s an interesting paradox with supply and demand in Uber Eats. When demand is high, Uber Eats will often offer a bonus for deliveries. However, if the bonus gets really high, more Uber Eats drivers will log into the app, and then you may end up getting fewer deliveries as the supply of drivers increases.

If Uber Eats is offering a particularly high bonus, there’s a possibility you’ll end up with fewer delivery requests simply because so many drivers will log in to try to take advantage of the bonus. I would still try to work when there are large bonuses being offered, but be aware that others will try to do the same.

I’m A Customer – Why Is Uber Eats So Slow?

If you’re a customer and Uber Eats is slow for you, the primary reason is that you aren’t tipping. Uber Eats drivers are paid per delivery and can accept or reject orders any orders that are sent to them. The payment is made up of two parts – the base pay from Uber Eats + the tip the customer leaves for the driver.

Uber Eats orders generally come with a low base pay of just $2 to $4 or so. That means if you don’t tip, drivers will only see a delivery request offering $2 to $4. That’s too low for most drivers to accept, which means your food may be sitting for a while until Uber Eats either raises the pay on it or is able to lump it in with another delivery. Either way, it means you’ll likely be waiting longer.

One thing to note is that while Uber Eats drivers can’t see the exact tip you leave until after they deliver your order, they can still get an idea if you tipped based on the payout they’re being offered. The takeaway is if you want your order delivered to you quickly, be sure to tip.

The other reason Uber Eats could be slow is that you’re ordering from a restaurant that’s too far away from your location. Logistically, the farther away the restaurant is from you, the longer it’ll take to get to you. But also, many drivers might not accept a delivery request going far away unless the payout is particularly enticing. If you want your order delivered quickly, consider ordering from restaurants that are closer to you.

Strategies For When Uber Eats Is Slow

The most important thing you can do to make sure you stay busy is to multi-app. That means signing up for multiple food delivery apps and turning them all on at the same time. If you’re signed up only for Uber Eats, you should also sign up for DoorDash, Grubhub, and any other food delivery apps that are available in your city. If one app is slow, other apps could be busier.

Check out my post, How To Make $1,000 A Week With Uber Eats. I go into more detail there with strategies that can help you earn more. Be sure to check out some of my other food delivery app posts for more detailed information about each app.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.