Starting this month, consumers in Seattle will see increased service fees on all deliveries. To be clear, we are increasing some fees in an effort to continue delivering in the city–a market in which DoorDash operated at a loss in 2024. Despite clear data showing that Seattle’s delivery policies have led to lower earnings for Dashers, fewer orders for merchant partners, and a more expensive experience for consumers, Seattle’s leaders have once again forced through extreme regulations that will increase the costs of operating. Under these regulations, Seattle is now the most expensive market to facilitate delivery in the United States.
Seattle’s Costly Regulations
Seattle law already requires platforms to pay delivery workers nearly $30 an hour before mileage and tips–well above the city’s minimum wage. Now, the city is imposing additional costly regulations, including a drawn-out and intensive review of any Dasher deactivations. Despite frequent warnings to the City Council about the costs of these regulations, the combination of Seattle’s strict pay laws and new regulations governing DoorDash’s deactivations policies have put us in a position where we must increase fees yet again.
Many consumers have been priced out of delivery services
Average fees for Seattle consumers are the highest in the country–over two times higher than the average fees per order in similar cities like Denver, San Francisco, and Portland. In addition to higher costs, an increase in fraud as a result of the delivery pay law has also made the experience for Seattle consumers worse: the average delivery delay increased by over 35% for Seattle consumers from December 2023 to December 2024.
Restaurants and local businesses are struggling with fewer orders and less revenue
One year after Seattle's earnings standard took effect, the average monthly revenue per store on DoorDash fell 2%, while the average store in similar cities like Denver, San Francisco, and Portland saw sales rise over 10%.
Workers – who the law was meant to help – are actually taking home less.
A year after Seattle's delivery pay law went into effect, Dashers were receiving half as many daily delivery offers as they were before and waiting three times longer for potential deliveries. This resulted in average hourly Dasher earnings for all time spent on the app in Seattle decreasing by over 20% between the end of 2023 and the end of 2024– a downward trend that has continued into 2025.
Enough is enough. Seattle’s local businesses, Dashers, and consumers are all feeling the squeeze of this overregulation. We’re continuing to stand beside the countless advocates who are working to oppose this policy.
