Earn on your own schedule

Delivery partner surge: A new feature to help you make more money when it’s busy

26 November 2019 / New Zealand

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You’re ready to go online to make deliveries for restaurants. How do you maximise your time?
We want to help remove some of the guesswork because we know your time is valuable. So, we’re introducing surge, which enables you to earn more for your deliveries during periods of high demand. For example, if there’s a lunch or dinner rush, or if lots of people are ordering in due to the weather, you can check the Uber Driver app for surge zones to get the most out of delivering with the Uber Eats app.
Let’s get into the finer details:
The surge heatmap
Surge happens in real-time. Surge areas are represented by a colour and a corresponding dollar amount. Red shows the busier areas with the highest surge amounts, and lighter colours show areas with lower surge amounts. However, if you don’t see surge areas it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not busy. It may just mean that there are a good amount of delivery partners online to help keep up with delivery requests from restaurants.
You’ll get the higher surge
To help ensure that you don’t miss out on earning opportunities, the higher surge amount between your location and the restaurant’s location at the time you accept the  delivery request will be applied to your delivery. For example, if you accept a delivery while in a $6.50 surge zone but the restaurant is in a $3.50 surge zone, a surge amount of $6.50 will apply to your delivery.
Check your surge earnings
Surge doesn’t replace other promotions you may be enjoying, such as Boost or Quest. When surge applies to a delivery, the amount shown in your Uber Driver app will be included as an additional amount in your delivery fee from the restaurant. The Uber Service Fee will not apply to any surge amount that is included in your delivery fee.
You can check your surge earnings in a couple of ways: 
The surge amount will be indicated on the accept screen in your Driver app when you accept a delivery request. 
When you complete a delivery with surge, you can see the surge amount in the fare breakdown of your trip details.
Stay tuned for more surge locations
We’re currently rolling out surge to the world, so if it isn’t available in your area yet, we’ll notify you when it is. If you have additional questions, feel free to check out our list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) below.
Delivery partner surge FAQs
What is delivery partner surge?Down Small
Delivery partner surge is a new feature on the Driver app that enables you to earn more for your deliveries during times of high demand. The home screen of the Driver app has a heatmap that displays areas where surge is available at a particular time. Red shows busier areas with the highest surge amounts and the lighter colours show areas with lower surge amounts. If you accept a delivery request with surge, the surge amount shown on the accept screen will be included as an additional amount in the delivery fee you receive from the restaurant. The Uber Service Fee will not apply to any surge amount that is included in your delivery fee.
How does delivery partner surge work?Down Small
If surge applies to your delivery, the amount indicated as surge shown in your app will be included as an additional amount in your delivery fee. Where the surge amount differs between the restaurant’s pickup location and your location at the time you accept the restaurant’s delivery request, you will receive the higher surge amount. For example, if the Driver app shows $5 surge over where you accept the delivery request, and $3 surge over the pickup location, you will receive the $5 surge for that delivery.
As an example, if your payout for a delivery without surge is $10, and you accepted a delivery request with a $5 surge, your delivery fee would be $15. It is important to note that the surge amount you see in your app is exactly what will be included in your delivery fee and the Uber Service Fee will not apply to the surge amount.
How can i check if i received surge for my delivery?Down Small
If you accept a delivery request with surge, the app will show the surge amount on the accept screen. When you complete the delivery, you will also see the surge amount in the fare breakdown in your app.
How is surge different to boost or quest?Down Small
Unlike Boost and Quest promotions, surge is part of your delivery fee and is dependent on the level of demand for delivery services from restaurants at a given time. If there are not enough delivery partners online, surge will start in real-time and can increase with demand up to $10, allowing you to earn more for your deliveries. 
You will be able to see whether surge is available by checking the heatmap on your Driver app. Surge will not be communicated in advance via email or SMS, like boost and quest may currently be. 
Why does surge look different at night?Down Small
The Driver app has a night mode and dims all colours within the app, however surge still works in the same way.