People who deliver with Uber Eats are the ‘not all heroes wear capes’ meme personified. Every time I’m hungover, or zonked on the couch, or just generally being a lazy slob, I am amazed that we can just touch our magic rectangle a few times and boom: delicious food arrives at our door. As if by magic.
Only it’s not magic — it’s people like 30-year-old Colombian student Lina that make it happen.
Lina arrived in Sydney from Bogotá in Feb 2020, right before we entered the most unprecedented of times. Imagine stepping off a plane, not really knowing the language, ready for your new adventure — and the world as we all know it changes forever, all while you’re trying to navigate a whole new life on the other side of the globe, trying to balance work and study. On top of that, as a non-Australian resident, she was ineligible for JobSeeker. How does one deal with that? That’s exactly what we asked Lina.
PTV: Tell me a bit about your journey so far — when did you arrive in Australia? What made you pack up your life and move so far from home?
Lina: For a long time, I was planning to leave my country, I wanted to live new experiences. I was tired of my standard of living in Colombia, I wanted to learn English, I wanted to find other possibilities for my future and help my family. Australia was so far from home and so expensive, but I heard good comments about it from my friends. So I decided to save until eventually I sold everything I had including my motorcycle, and gathered the money from the years I had worked.
This was going to be a great step not only for me but for my family. They felt proud and scared, I am the first person who dared and who was able to leave my country in my family group, I risked everything to meet one of my goals. With a sad heart for leaving my family, but with all the excitement and best energy, on February 22, 2020, I arrived in Sydney after a 48-hour trip with three stops through Europe. When my friend picked me up at the airport I remember crying with happiness.
February 2020 — right before it all hit the fan. How did you deal with COVID?
After three weeks here, I found my first job washing dishes, but then COVID began and everything closed. I was very afraid because I did not know anything about this disease and I had just arrived. I was worried I’d have to go home but I wasn’t ready, I still had a lot to learn in Australia.
I survived with the money I brought and with the help of my friends, I got another job as a house cleaner for families with physical and mental disabilities. In Colombia I had an office job, my mother helped me with everything and so now having to clean for money was interesting — I thought to myself, I’ve never in my whole life cleaned as much as I have at this job!
So when did you start riding for Uber Eats?
For a long time, I thought being a delivery person was hard work. But one day a friend who did it took me along with him and I liked how he could earn money without pushing himself like I did as a cleaner. So I signed up, and at first, I only worked weekends, but once I started making calculations I realised I earned more with Uber than other casual jobs, so I decided to reduce my other work and do more with Uber Eats. It is something less exhausting than other jobs and good pay.
You live in Bondi, did you always want to end up there? Was Melbourne or other parts of Aus on the cards before you chose Sydney?
I chose Sydney because I had some friends here, and because it’s so full of job opportunities. I was so impressed with the landscapes, cleanliness, beauty, and multiculturalism of this country when I arrived. I chose Bondi because I’ve always wanted to live close to the beach, seeing the sea gives me peace of mind — I always feel like I’m on vacation!
I hear you zip around town on a Vespa — that’s pretty cool — how did you first meet your Vespa, is there a fun origin story there?
A Vespa was always my dream so I found a good price for this bike and didn’t hesitate to buy it. At first, I only drove a few short trips while I got used to the big avenues and traffic.
What’s your favourite part of riding for Uber Eats?
It has allowed me to have time for my studies, to have money for my expenses and to help my family in these moments of COVID. The situation in my country became very complicated to the point that my mother and sister did not have work for months, but with my work I can afford to help my family every month with basic expenses.
How many hours do you spend delivering a week?
About 20 because it’s the maximum I can work as a student, which means that with Uber Eats and cleaning I’ll make about $1,000 a week.
Have you ever experienced any safety concerns while delivering?
I’ve felt pretty safe working with Uber during this pandemic, I’ve been lucky to find one of the few jobs that have actually increased in number during COVID. I think safety is also based on how we drive — how we take risks is the responsibility of each driver.
Sometimes things happen in the street, people go through traffic lights when it’s red, and as a rider on a scooter, I must react very quickly — if I brake badly I can fall to the ground and cause injury or an accident.
I’m very cautious. I’m always staying focussed when I ride, and when it’s rainy I just stop and change my work day, which is the advantage that Uber has; I can choose to work at any time.
Any particularly wholesome moments?
I have had many occasions before the restrictions in which happy children waited for me at the door to tip me and receive their meals. And one time, a man gave me a tip and told me to take the vaccine!
