Costly gas but steady gigs: Food delivery worker earnings hold firm amid LPG crunch

Food delivery worker earnings hold firm amid LPG crunch. (Image generated using ChatGPT)

Even as securing an LPG cylinder for his own kitchen has grown difficult over the past week, Pankaj Singh, a Swiggy delivery worker in Gurugram, says his earnings on the road haven’t run out of fuel.

“There was a slight slowdown for a day or two but after that it’s been normal,” he said.

Conversations with several delivery partners across Gurugram indicate a similar trend. While the LPG shortage — triggered by supply disruptions due to the war in West Asia — has strained restaurant operations and pushed up cooking costs, its impact is yet to meaningfully trickle down to food-delivery workers. Most riders said order volumes have stabilised after a brief dip earlier this month, with daily earnings remaining largely unchanged.

Staffing firms tracking the gig economy are reporting a similar trend. Data from TeamLease Services shows that demand for delivery workers across platforms remains “largely stable, with no sharp or structural shifts visible”, with hiring continuing in a calibrated, demand-led manner.

“On average, gig workers continue to earn around Rs 1,000 per day depending on city, hours, and incentives. Any fluctuations are mostly linked to local demand-supply dynamics rather than a systemic slowdown,” said Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services.

“Food delivery partners form only a small share of the overall gig workforce and even within last-mile delivery, restaurant orders are just one segment. Many restaurants, particularly quick service restaurant (QSR) chains, continue to operate and fulfil deliveries, so any disruption remains limited."

Rider utilisation has seen only marginal movement, largely during non-peak hours, while shift allocations and average orders per worker remain broadly steady, the firm said.

Swiggy and Zomato did not immediately respond to Moneycontrol queries.

Earnings hold steady, for now

Worker representatives say the limited impact on gig workers, so far, aligns with what is being seen on the ground but caution that the situation could change if disruptions persist.

“The impact hasn’t been very meaningful, so far, since it’s still early but if the shortage continues, it could start disrupting restaurant operations and, in turn, affect delivery volumes,” said Shaik Salauddin, founder president of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU).

For now, workers are cushioning against any potential disruption by keeping their options open across categories within the gig economy.

“To ensure their earnings don’t take a hit, workers are keeping options open across platforms like e-commerce and quick commerce, allowing them to shift if food delivery demand slows,” he added. Platform companies would need to step in to safeguard worker interests if the disruption persists, Salauddin said.

Kitchens under pressure

Restaurant operators, however, paint a far more strained picture.

“We were not even able to book cylinders for a few days. We had to buy in the black market at Rs 3,000–Rs 5,000 just to keep things running,” said the owner of a Gurugram-based cloud kitchen. “Now bookings have opened up but we don’t know when the cylinder will actually be delivered.”

As Moneycontrol reported earlier, restaurants across cities have been grappling with an acute shortage of commercial LPG cylinders due to Iran-war led supply disruptions and a policy push to prioritise domestic consumption. In several cases, eateries were unable to secure fresh supplies, forcing them to either cut back operations or turn to costlier, informal channels.

Industry body National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has also asked member restaurants to conserve fuel and rethink operations, including rationalising menus, prioritising dishes that require less gas, and temporarily scaling back fuel-intensive items.

The advisory, issued on March 10, also encouraged restaurants to explore alternatives such as electric or induction-based cooking, batch cooking and shorter operating hours to manage consumption.

To stay operational, many have resorted to workarounds — switching to charcoal, firewood or electric cooking where possible, while rationalising menus to reduce dependence on gas-heavy items. Dosas, deep-fried snacks and other high-consumption dishes have been among the first to be scaled back, with several outlets pivoting to sandwiches, grilled fare and other lower-gas alternatives.

The cost pressure has also begun to reflect on consumer bills. Some restaurants have introduced LPG surcharges of Rs 15–Rs 30 per order, while others have raised menu prices by Rs 5–Rs 10 to offset rising input costs.

Demand shifts, not drops

Even so, delivery demand has held up so far, with no sharp drop in order volumes reported by riders.

“Even where restaurant orders soften slightly, demand is not disappearing but shifting toward quick commerce, grocery delivery, and e-commerce logistics, which continue to see steady growth and can absorb workforce capacity,” said Balasubramanian.

Many delivery partners operate across platforms, allowing them to offset any temporary dips in one segment.

At the same time, the impact remains uneven and localised. According to TeamLease Services, early signs of softening have been limited to select metro pockets such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, particularly in high-density consumption clusters, while Tier 2 3 cities continue to see stable demand.

Where restaurants or cloud kitchens reduce operating hours or trim menus, order volumes may dip in certain time slots, leading to slightly higher idle time for riders but these effects remain marginal for now.

Risk on the horizon

For now, the LPG crunch has created a divergence. While restaurant kitchens remain under pressure, food-delivery workers continue to see steady orders and earnings.

However, that balance may not hold if supply disruptions persist.

A recent note by Goldman Sachs flagged that major QSR chains could face disruptions if LPG availability does not improve, given their heavy reliance on commercial gas and limited inventory buffers.

“Given the high dependence on LPG and limited inventory (less than a week), any prolonged disruption in supply could impact the ability to service normal demand,” it said, adding this could lead to a temporary hit to revenues.

For platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, disruption at high-volume QSR chains — key drivers of delivery demand — might result into lower order volumes, and in turn, impact rider utilisation and earnings.

For now, though, that risk remains largely on the horizon.