Delivery drivers and restaurants in Canberra were stunned by the sudden closure of Deliveroo after it was announced the service would shut down in Australia.
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"It's left us vulnerable," Nabin Adhikari, who delivers food in the ACT as one of his jobs, said. "The only option is to try and find another job."
"It's too easy for them to leave the market. There should be more regulation."
And Canberra burger chain Grease Monkey said it was "now lining up for the leftovers" after Deliveroo was put in the hands of administrators.
The company's owner, Nick Tuckwell, said the collapse had left a big hole in the local industry - and in his business.
"With three stores and a food truck across Canberra, Deliveroo became a big part of our business, providing a network of locals with ongoing delivery work, and allowing us to reach more Canberrans with our meals than ever before," he said.
The drivers and restaurants were left high and dry after Deliveroo's British parent company decided the Australian arm wasn't making enough money, so it pulled the plug.
"We have concluded that achieving a sustainable position of leadership in the market is not possible without a disproportionate level of investment which would have highly uncertain returns," Deliveroo's General Manager in Australia, Ed McManus, said on the company's website.
"It is with deep regret that Deliveroo is taking the difficult decision to end our operations in Australia."
Its departure leaves Uber Eats and Menulog as the big hot food delivery companies in Canberra.
In 2018, the delivery Company Foodora pulled out. Canberra driver Nabin Adhikari reckons that was because it feared tighter regulation to protect drivers like him.
"Now Deliveroo is cowardly fleeing country too," he said. He thought the reason was the same: fear of putting its riders on a more secure basis, with more secure and better pay. "Deliveroo don't want regulation."
The company's departure leaves less competition, and that may ultimately not be good for customers, according to Rob Nicholls of the University of New South Wales Business School.
He said Deliveroo's problem was that it didn't "scale up" fast enough. It didn't succeed in getting enough restaurants on its books - so the competition won.
"It was looking slightly up-market so it was hard to break into Canberra," Dr Nicholls said.
Deliveroo has appointed the firm KordaMentha as administrator. It describes itself as "an advisory and investment firm that has a range of services to help clients grow, protect and recover value".
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The Transport Workers' Union said Deliveroo's exit was a "sudden and cowardly act".
Workers should be the priority for the administrators, it said. It also called on the federal government to act urgently to protect workers in the "gig economy".
"The TWU has sought urgent consultation with administrators on what entitlements might be clawed back for food delivery riders who stand to lose their jobs in the blink of an eye,' TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said.
"These are workers that have been ripped off minimum wage and other rights, and put under deadly pressure to prioritise speed over safety when delivering food."
The drivers operate on a freelance basis. They have apps on their phones for the various delivery companies. Some work for several but many work only for one, including Deliveroo. They gather near clusters of restaurants waiting for orders on their apps.
The pay is not high. An order to pick up food from McDonald's in Fyshwick, for example, and deliver to Brindabella Circuit in Pialligo 2.7 kilometres away earned the driver $3.50.
There were safety issues in the industry, according to Pushkar Samal. Pressure of time meant it was not possible to stop during a delivery, but new destinations were coming in on the phone app as they drove.
One breakthrough came in 2020 when the Fair Work Commission ruled a former Deliveroo rider was an employee and, therefore, entitled to the rights of an employee. That decision was overturned by a higher court last year.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
