Bangkok, Thailand – When Piti began working as a Grab delivery driver at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 26-year-old Bangkok resident had little trouble earning a decent wage.
But after two years of delivering food to homes and offices, Piti’s earnings have taken such a dramatic hit that he is looking to switch jobs.
For the past few months, Piti says he has been receiving a starting rate of 38 baht ($1.07) per food order, down from 40 baht ($1.12) in the past.
Worse still, Piti says he picks up far fewer gigs due to a sharp rise in the number of drivers on the road.
“I used to earn about 2,000 baht [$57] per day, but now some days I earn just 900 baht [$25],” Piti, who asked to use a pseudonym to avoid retaliation, told Al Jazeera.
Piti plans to switch to transporting passengers with Grab’s ride-hailing service, which he says pays a more attractive rate of 35 baht…
