Delivery drivers have longer duty hours Duty hours of delivery drivers are too longer
Duty hours of delivery drivers are too longer
Amazon Logistics makes about 2.5 billion package deliveries in the U.S. each year, according to a Morgan Stanley media report, about the same number of deliveries as FedEx and UPS combined. The tech company relies on the services of more than 800 delivery services partners who manage an army of around 75,000 drivers to deliver all these packages safely.
Amazon has nearly 100 million Prime members, who receive delivery times as part of their membership. In 2015, Amazon decided to hire contract drivers and set up a flex program to safely meet delivery demand.
The only age limit to become an Amazon Flex driver is to be over 21 years old with a driver’s license and auto insurance and own at least a vehicle that is an approximately a mid-size sedan and pass a basic background check and confirmation.
Amazon says in its ad that Flex drivers can earn between $18 and $25 an hour, but that usually depends on how busy the shift is. A recent media report by a CNBC reporter tagged a flex driver in the San Francisco area who safely delivered about 46 packages in three and a half hours and earned $105.
After getting a job at Amazon, flex driver is required to drive their own car and pay for their own gas, utilities, and vehicle maintenance costs. They use an Amazon Flex Driver app to sign up for a “block” of time and then go to a fulfillment center for packages. Depending on how long it takes to deliver all the packages, some drivers say the app isn’t worth the effort, especially if you live in a metro area with heavy traffic.
Full-time Amazon delivery drivers earn between $15 and $17 an hour on average and are provided with their own company vehicle, reports The Newswheel. The website says that full-time drivers can make about 100 safe deliveries per day and finish work in about 10 hours per day. During busy days, such as around the holidays or Amazon Prime Day, drivers also work overtime, as drivers expect.
Working for Amazon as a full-time or contract driver has many benefits. But similar to warehouse and corporate jobs for the company, many critical reports have surfaced from several news media sites.
Business Insider wrote in its media reports that it spoke with current and former Amazon drivers, and some said that the high volume of packages and driving for quotas forced them to drive at high and dangerous speeds and exceed the prescribed limits. No time left for breaks and rest. Contract drivers also told CNBC that the Flex app is critical to encouraging distracted driving.