A new minimum hourly rate is a major improvement for delivery riders, but platform incentives still reward speed, dangerous conditions and risk-taking.

It’s the lunch rush in Sydney’s CBD on a putrid summer day, and I’m hurtling along the George Street light rail tracks with $188 worth of Chinese cheese tea wobbling on the back of my second-hand pushbike.

No, I’m not an elite athlete with an eccentric training regimen. I’m a delivery rider for HungryPanda, one of the major online food delivery services operating in Sydney, specialising in Asian cuisine. Each morning when I get out of bed, HungryPanda sends me an inspirational quote. Today’s is “To defeat oneself is the most precious victory.”

When people ask why I became a delivery rider, I tell them it’s because I graduated with an arts degree. People laugh, but it’s true – stumbling out from university and barely able to cover rent with the income from my part-time admin job, I started delivering for HungryPanda.

I’m on my last order for the day. I’ve spent the last few hours delivering food for about $5 per order, but now I’m racing from Annandale in Sydney’s inner west to........

© Pearls and Irritations