Delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers across Cambridge are speaking out about the mounting pressures they face in the gig economy, as new findings from University of Cambridge researchers highlight widespread anxiety, poor pay, and serious health concerns among local platform workers.
The research, led by sociologist Dr Alex Wood, shows that over two-thirds of local workers fear unfair feedback could jeopardise their income, while 75% are anxious about potential drops in pay. On average, riders and drivers earn just £8 an hour—below the UK’s minimum wage in 2022—and spend up to 10 unpaid hours each week waiting on apps for work.
“Platform companies call themselves tech firms,” says Dr Wood, “but in practice they govern, control and profit from labour they claim not to own, without bearing employer responsibility.”
The findings reveal a stark contrast between local and remote gig workers. Remote workers generally enjoy greater autonomy, with 92% saying they choose their own tasks, and fewer reporting health issues or work-related pain. In contrast, more than half of riders and drivers report risks to their physical safety, and 42% say they suffer regular bodily pain due to the job.
PhD candidate Jon White, also from Cambridge University, is interviewing delivery drivers across the city to explore how algorithmic pressures affect their perception of time and wellbeing.
Several drivers describe working through exhaustion to make ends meet. One said,
I have to do my minimum every day so I can at least pay my bills… If I don’t, I can’t go home.”
Another lamented, “Ever since I started, I’ve never had a good sleep.”
White’s research echoes Wood’s: riders juggle multiple platforms, endure physical strain, and fear unpredictable algorithm-driven changes to their hours or earnings.
With the gig economy now embedded in daily life, Cambridge’s delivery drivers are calling not just for better pay—but for recognition, respect, and reform.
