These days most navigation apps are pretty on par with each other. It’s hard to believe you have to think long and hard about which one to use. But I think with the on-demand food delivery gigs, it matters which app you use for navigation. The right app can help you in a lot of ways if you drive for an on-demand courier service like Caviar or Postmates in which you hustle against the clock to make good money. Waze is the navigation app I default to when driving.

Here are the reasons why I prefer Waze over Google Maps and Apple Maps for food delivery.

Network effect

The thing that makes this app different is that the community of users power it. Waze is the largest community-based navigation and traffic app around the world. Waze takes in information from other drivers and provides updates on road conditions and makes on-the-spot recommendations to give you the fastest route. The more drivers using the app the better the route recommendations. This is the network effect.

Real-time traffic updates

Through Waze, drivers are able to put out traffic alerts to other drivers in real time. This is especially useful during rush hours or during rainy nights when crashes are more likely to occur. I can look at the map and see which street to avoid.

Sometimes rain cause floods and it’s very helpful when other drivers report flooded areas. Portland has a lot of bridges and sometimes one would go up to let a boat through. Getting stuck waiting on the bridge is really bad for your earnings. With Waze, I will know when a bridge is up and reroute accordingly.

Construction notices

Many urban cities like Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, where on-demand food delivery services are available, are experiencing housing crisis and there are a lot of urban developments in these cities. With Waze, you can easily see these construction sites and avoid them.

Neighborhood updates

Delivering food means often driving into residential neighborhoods. You never know if there’s something going on in that particular neighborhood that would result in a road block unless someone in that neighborhood informs you ahead of time. These kind of local updates are possible with Waze.

Save on gas when you fill up

The Waze app can be used to find the cheapest gas stations around you. This is enabled by gas prices updates made by the community of the app. Gas prices in my area range from $2.13 to $2.89 a gallon. Using Waze I’ve been able to find pumps with the lowest prices and save.

Avoiding speeding tickets

Sometimes you’re running behind on a delivery. This is especially true when you’re trying to stack jobs across multiple on-demand food delivery platforms or working on a batched delivery for a singular delivery service. Waze allows users to notify each other when they see a cop either visible or hiding out at an intersection. If you have to book it on the road, this feature is extremely useful for avoiding speeding tickets.

Downsides

The app comes with some downsides, though. I typically use Google Maps or Apple Maps when driving on road trips. Waze doesn’t work for routes over 1,000 miles. But I don’t think anyone will be doing a 1,000-mile burrito delivery anytime soon.

I think Google Maps or Apple Maps has better aesthetics.

Another downside is that Google, the company which owns Waze, is gathering information about you and tracking your every location. But then again, every tech company is doing that these days.

Another downside is that sometimes the app recommends routes that take you into fringe neighborhoods you’re not familiar with, and the road isn’t paved.

Lastly, there is no way to get rid of the obnoxious advertising in the app.

If you’re delivering food for on-demand delivery companies and haven’t given Waze a try, I highly recommend it. The app is free to download.

Good luck out there couriers!