In Córdoba, the deployment of digital platforms must be completed in September 2025 461 monthly orderswhat represents more than 15 per dayfor avoid falling below the poverty lineaccording to a new report from the Encuentro Foundation.
The study is based on data from OrdersNow and Rappishows that the average income per trip is $2,553an amount that leaves thousands of workers in the province is below the basic income limitdespite days that can exceed 10 hours.
The report presents Average order size ratio (APP), a metric that translates the Cost of living at real expense of a delivery man. Compliance with an average rent is required there 271 orders; raise a child, 190; and reach the minimum wage, 126 trips.
The Cordoba of delivery
“To be in good numbers, I have to be at least in between 15 and 20 orders per day“, Account Diegodelivery man on bike, Córdoba profile. The number you quoted is almost surgically consistent with the APP calculation.
But his explanation adds another layer: the rate fluctuates depending on the rate Weather, demand and algorithm. “There are days when the minimum is on the floor and you have to do it Multiply travel to make it profitable“, he describes.
The report warns that the ability to generate income depends entirely on external variables. The same thing is said on the street: “On weekends the tariff goes up a little and with it I do with 10 orders what I do with 20 a week“explains Diego. But this economic improvement is not enough to stabilize a monthly income.
Fixed costs that throw every calculation out of balance
If the amount per order is approx $2,500the difference between Gross and real income Things get miserable when you add in the costs. Gasoline, maintenance, insurance and tax are a monthly expense.
Mairathe delivery combined with other work, also detailed Córdoba profile: “I spend something 40,000 pesos per week in gasoline. Further 20 insurance companies. Further 70,000 of the monotribute. That alone is already at 180,000 before it starts winning.”
On the other hand, Natalya She is also a delivery person and describes delivery as a system in which anything is possible depends on. “How many orders you place in a day is very relative,” he begins.
He warns that, despite the discipline, the general situation has worsened: last year he defined it as “more”complicated“He comments that he previously lived solely from childbirth, but Today he cannot afford the rent and maintenance of his children..
“From Friday to Sunday and the Holidays That’s when you work the most.” But even within the same weekend, there are differences that are difficult to explain: “Being in the highest rank, there are nights where you work.” five orders and others that make you fifteen. With the same conditions. “It changes depending on the season.”
It also points to something that doesn’t appear in any reports but has a direct impact on sales: category. “In all apps there are areas: Bronze, silver, diamond. The higher you are, the more tasks you are assigned. But if your performance drops for a few days, your level drops and the app sends you less.”
When paying, the word that organizes everything appears again: relativity. “There are inquiries about it $1,500 and others of $10,000. It depends on whether it’s double, whether it’s long, whether there’s high demand, it’s never exact.”
On the other hand, regarding accidents, the relevance of which is no less when you ride a motorcycle or bicycle for hours, he added: “If you are insured for the ordinary motorcycle and are not registered that you are going to work with the motorcycle, then you have an accident and then you realize that you have been working.” that the insurance company will not respond“, and explained that other delivery drivers The application also did not cover employment insurance.
Flexibility or self-exploitation
The platforms emphasize freedom of time as a competitive advantage. But the witness statements show something different.
“There are children who start at 7 a.m. and continuing until 12 p.m“, says Maira. The promise of independence is replaced by a logic of total availability: if you don’t connect in times of high demand, your income drops.
In September, the report calculated that overcoming poverty requires more than 15 trips every day of the month without a break. In Córdoba, where demand is concentrated in very specific bands and decreases due to weather or events, the target becomes practically unattainable.
Impossible commands and opaque algorithms
Another common problem is the allocation of unfeasible purchases. Diego sums it up in an everyday scene: “Sometimes you take an order and then see what to bring, it’s impossible.” Water bottles, jerry cans and soda packs can’t even be loaded onto a motorcycle.“.
The lack of transparency is also evident in collective trips: “We don’t know whether the order will be split up or whether payment will be made separately.” You won’t see the value until you’re done“, describes the delivery man.
A millionaires’ market with workers at the limit
The delivery sector in Argentina is moving $1,860 million and employs some 160,000 people. However, the Encuentro Foundation warns that it operates without salary records, without clear pension contributions and with an income that depends on an algorithm that no one knows.
Meanwhile, delivery drivers continue to juggle between hourly changing rates, customers demanding impossible loads, and expenses that double their potential take-home pay. The city is the visible setting; Precarity, what is not seen.
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