Over the past five years, Hongkonger Tam Yuen has earned an average of HK$50,000 (US$6,435) per month from food deliveries alone, even as he has a full-time remote job.
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The motorcyclist, 40, said on Monday that he had been relying on Foodpanda and Meituan’s Keeta to supplement his income while witnessing trickling orders from Deliveroo Hong Kong, whose services will end on April 7.
“The closure of Deliveroo is expected and inevitable. Its payment per order significantly lags behind the other two platforms. Riders looking to maximise income will avoid taking orders from Deliveroo. With fewer riders accepting orders, delivery times will increase, leading to unhappy customers,” Tam, who stopped short of revealing his full-time profession, said.
Tam is among many food delivery riders who work for the three platforms simultaneously and are unfazed by the closure announcement of Deliveroo, a London-based online food delivery company which will pull out of the Hong Kong market after nine years.
Loss-making Deliveroo is selling certain assets to rival Foodpanda and has encouraged riders to join it as well. Foodpanda is a unit of Berlin-based Delivery Hero, which has operated in Hong Kong for about 11 years.
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Following Deliveroo’s departure, Foodpanda will be solely competing with Keeta. Meituan, China’s largest food delivery company, operates the Keeta brand in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia and is listed on the city’s stock exchange.