UberEats and DoorDash are making it harder for consumers to tip for their meals delivered, shortchanging delivery workers by more than $550 million over several years, according to a new report from the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Tipping on delivery platforms decreased significantly after Uber Eats and DoorDash changed their app platform so that customers tip their delivery drivers after checkout, the report said. The change, implemented for New York City customers in December 2023, made the tipping process easy to miss and more difficult to navigate, the report said.
The average tip at Uber Eats and DoorDash is currently 76 cents per delivery. In contrast, the average tip is $2.17 per delivery on restaurant delivery apps that offer a tipping option at checkout, according to the report.
“Our report blows the whistle on a massive scheme by Uber and DoorDash to drive down worker pay by more than $550 million. That era has come to end,” said DCWP Commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine. “Under Mayor [Zohran] Mamdani, the biggest corporations in the world will no longer be able to rake in record profits on the backs of workers and consumers. If these companies do not follow new tipping laws going into effect later this month, they will face significant consequences.”
The app design change resulted in a $554 million decrease in Uber Eats and DoorDash workers’ tip earnings since they were implemented. The current loss to workers is approximately $5,800 per year, the report said.
NYC’s New Laws to Protect Tipping on Restaurant and Grocery Apps
New amendments to the Delivery Worker Laws require restaurant delivery apps to provide city consumers with user-friendly options to tip. These amendments require apps, including grocery delivery apps like Instacart, to give city consumers an option to tip their delivery worker during checkout, including a 10% tip option that is selectable in the user interface and an option to write in a custom tip amount, DCWP said.
The new requirements take effect on Jan. 26. If the apps apply the same tipping options they use elsewhere across the country, this will increase delivery worker earnings by $390 million per year, the report said.
Uber Eats and DoorDash have sued New York City to stop these amendments from going into effect. The court has not yet ruled on this request.
John Horton, DoorDash Head of North America Public Policy, said that DCWP’s claims are wrong.
"To be clear: no money has been stolen from Dashers. Consumers have not been misled. Dashers always receive 100% of tips placed on DoorDash," he said in a statement. "The facts are simple: Dashers in New York City earn an average of almost $30 per hour while on delivery before tips, more than many first responders."
Horton said DCWP wants to pressure consumers to tip even more.
"As we’ve said, forcing people to tip may as well be a tax. It should be up to consumers, not politicians, whether they want to tip more in New York after already paying for a billion dollar raise for workers," he said.
