DoorDash driver Ahsan Muhammad shares insight as delivery worker
Have you ever worked more than six jobs at once? For online food delivery drivers it is a reality, as one Canberra worker shares his story of multiple jobs, house hunting and his arrival in Australia.
Canberra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Canberra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Canberra university student has opened the lid on the life of online food delivery workers as they battle the cost of living and the collapse of other online similar companies.
Ahsan Muhammad came to the ACT at the start of 2022 for his partner’s employment opportunities while he studied civil engineering, continuing his side hustle with the popular online food ordering platform DoorDash.
Motorcyclist killed after crashing into tree in Sutton
The Pakistan-born driver is a natural, working with the company since his arrival to Australia in 2019, delivering meals while living in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Mr Muhammad said he has worked in Frankston in Victoria all the way up to Mackay in Queensland, estimating he has delivered more than 20,000 meals for not only DoorDash, but nine other platforms.
While working for DoorDash for the last several years has been life changing, the Canberran food delivery driver said workers couldn’t live on it alone.
“I do other apps as well to earn my income ... the work varies depending on where you are and the days,” Mr Muhammad said.
“It can be stressful at times where in certain areas you have to depend on four or six apps, or you have to get another job and do it as a combination.”
Mr Muhammad said he divides his time with other apps including UberEats and MenuLog, while juggling a casual job at David Jones to support his study and his wife while they house hunt.
“It is a stress, because sometimes we’ll have an order in Jerrabomberra in New South Wales and then you have to drive out there and come back,” he said.
Mr Muhammad said he worked for the now defunct Deliveroo which was a popular choice among online food delivery drivers in Canberra due to their payment percentage.
Kunal Chopra dies in tragic Belconnen car and truck collision
Instant grocery delivery service Voly was another online platform that folded in late 2022 as well, exiting the market during a “period of global economic uncertainty”.
Mr Muhammad said in the face of this, he continued to work hard to earn money for his family, and thanked DoorDash for the opportunity as well as their flexibility.
“You have to earn money, and you do whatever you have to and you just cope with it,” he said.
“That’s why DoorDash is great because you can go anywhere in Australia and just dash anywhere at any time,” he said.
Chad’s Ark: Zookeeper fights to protect three parks from floods
Beloved zookeeper Chad Staples, who has three wildlife parks in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and on the South Coast, is fighting to stop floodwaters encroaching on his properties – and on his animal kingdom.
Eleven storey housing and retail tower proposed for city’s north
A proposed 11-storey development in Casey will add 143 homes, retail space, and affordable housing as part of the suburb’s push for urban intensification.