I’ll give you an example I know from personal experience. Initial versions of the app would let you search for a delivery, select a job, and complete the run. Then you would simply repeat the whole process again.

Newer versions try to plan out a sequence of deliveries, and even concurrent deliveries where you do two pickups and then two deliveries, e.g. two pickups at the same restaurant and then two drops nearby. In urban environments it’s not uncommon to have orders bundled that go from the same restaurant and deliver to different units / offices at the same address.

Intelligently batching orders so that they are delivered both faster and cheaper (saving time by using a courier that’s already at the restaurant, balancing that against needing both orders ready before they can leave)

Every efficiency improvement means more tips for the driver and lower cost for the platform. It’s basically the singular focus of these companies to improve their queuing, matchmaking, pricing and routing algorithms to decrease delivery time and increase driver tips (flip sides of the same coin).

You may have seen basically the same kind of improvement within Uber, where your driver will have a pickup already matched in their queue before they even drop you off. Ideally the app even brings the new pickup to exactly the same curbside location as the drop off. This makes more money for the driver and for Uber - incentives are perfectly aligned, and probably even saves the pickup customer time because they are getting picked up faster with less fumbling around in between customers. Triple win.

Zero training / low skilled doesn’t mean there are no basic requirements (e.g. literacy, but also it may be physically demanding work). It means you don’t need a high school degree and you can start doing the job essentially on Day 1.

Lastly, it’s important to note that the convenience of these apps has ushered in an explosion of growth in the food delivery market. It’s a huge win for restaurants and couriers alike. Maybe not so much for grocery stores and waistlines? Not just new types of food being delivered which normally would not be available for delivery, but growth in the overall delivery volume within well established traditional food delivery verticals like pizza and chinese.

> If done by car it requires a drivers' license, putting it several steps above zero-training

Outside of a few major cities with comprehensive public transit, having a driver's license is practically a necessity for survival in the United States. Driving is not a skill that elevates anyone beyond the most basic level of employability.

>If done by car it requires a drivers' license, putting it several steps above zero-training

Most of these workers, in Italy at least, use bikes