When one orders from Uber Eats or other comparable delivery services, they usually get some information as to who their driver is going to be and what vehicle they’re going to be driving. This allows a customer to be able to easily identify their drivers—a necessity in densely populated areas like cities.
However, the listings on the app are not always as they appear, as TikTok user Landon Romano (@landonromanoo) recently noted. In a video with over 453,000 views as of Friday morning, Romano poses a simple question.
“How come y’all lie in the app and say that you delivering the order on a bicycle?” he asks. “Is it because you don’t have car insurance and they asked for it when you signed up? It’s all right, it’s all right—I ain’t gonna tell nobody. But I said, that bicycle sure do look a whole lot like a Nissan Altima to me.”
@landonromanoo ♬ original sound – Landon Romano
On a page on Uber’s website about this idea, the company says, “If the delivery person’s vehicle doesn’t match what’s shown in the app, let us know below.” As for why this happens in the first place, however, theories vary.
“They’re cheating the system by taking short distance orders from actual bikers,” a user writes on the r/UberEATS subreddit. “I suggest you next time report them you’ll get a refund on your food.”
“They could profiteering by juggling multiple accounts which isn’t fair, so please report them,” suggested another.
In the TikTok comments, similar theories were thrown about.
“Because my drivers license suspended bestie,” a user said.
“I don’t have a license yet that’s why,” added a second.
“So insurance companies won’t find out and raise their insurance rates,” a third user claimed. “Car Insurance companies are very nosy and will find out if you register the car.”
“If you have a accident they won’t let u drive so in order to make money you have to put a bike so u can deliver,” wrote an additional TikToker.
While this may seem like a convenience for some Uber drivers, Uber can suspend drivers for using cars that don’t have insurance and registration approved in their name. A story of a similar nature went viral in 2021 after a New Zealand Uber Eats driver complained that he was suspended after he began driving his second car while his first was being serviced.
“Our Community Guidelines make it clear to all users the behavior that is expected of them when using the Uber app and how they can lose access,” an Uber spokesperson told Stuff in response to the incident. “These standards clearly state that driver-partners and delivery people must take trips and deliveries using only approved vehicles.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Uber and Romano via email.
