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While many of us can list our favourite takeaways ordered with Deliveroo, it's easy to forget about about the person that brings them to the door.

Often they'll disappear again in just a few seconds, only distinguishable in the night by their reflective green backpack.

But Deliveroo cyclists have come into the spotlight after staging a number of protests in Liverpool. They say the company is taking on too many riders and pricing out those who make it their full-time job.

Deliveroo, on the other hand, says its riders prize flexibility and they are well-paid for their work.

To understand more about what it's like to be the cyclist in green, and what their complaints are, the ECHO joined two of the demonstrators on the road.

'Riders will be losing £100-200 a week'

At 4pm on a Monday afternoon in late October, Bold Street, Liverpool's foodie district, is just waking up.

While restaurants glow and the crowd of bundled-up shoppers get ever bigger, Dan and Mike (names have been changed) are standing close to the kerb, checking their phones.

Dan, 40, has been a courier for Deliveroo for more than two years, while Mike, 30, joined a year ago.

Both carved out careers as full-time couriers thanks to Deliveroo's booking system, which gave the most reliable riders first dibs on the hours they took.

They say they could make between £12-24 an hour – although as self-employed workers, they still have to pay tax.

But this all changed, they say, when Deliveroo tweaked the booking system in September for a trial period lasting until December – effectively flooding the city with riders for hire.

Mike says: “The riders who kept the company going for years report for work day in and day out, any weather.

“When the students come, they take it as a part time job to make some beer money on the weekend. They hired more riders, they opened up the zone, so it is a free for all.”

The riders blame this strategy for the drop in price per drop, as the riders call their deliveries.

Mike says: “We don't know if they are going to keep the system or not but the riders will be losing £100-200 a week.

“Deliveroo is going to make a lot more money from these few weeks.”

'For cyclists, the city's like a playground'

As we speak, Dan and Mike's phones are pinging with orders that need delivered. One is right round the corner, from Taco Bell.

The couriers decide to take it – not least because they know Taco Bell has a quick turnaround time, and time is precious when you're only paid for results.

Mike says: “The time waited at restaurants can be 40 minutes and the customer gets angry. You can end up waiting for a large part of an hour.”

Takeaway collected, we jump on our bikes. It's hard to keep up with the couriers as they cut through the crowds in Liverpool ONE. Although the streets are rammed with shoppers and office workers, they have an uncanny knack of making people aware of their presence.

Mike describes it as being “like animals in a concrete jungle”.

(Image: Nick Ansell/PA Wire)

But if couriers are good at weaving through the hen parties, they are still vulnerable to dangerous drivers, or hostile gangs. Some couriers refuse to go to certain areas - Anfield and Everton were two areas named - but crime can happen anywhere.

Mike says: “A guy was knocked off a bike on Berry Street and I think by the time he got up he had neither the bike nor the bag. Someone pinched his bike.”

And motorcyclists are in many ways more vulnerable than cyclists.

Mike says: “For cyclists, the city's like a playground, because we can weave through any passage and road.

“Motorcyclists have to park their bike and then walk to the restaurants. Motorbikes also have lots more maintenance.”

'Our lives are tied to the job'

Luckily, we make the trip without any major incidents, and deliver the takeaway to a serviced apartment next to the Philharmonic Dining Rooms. There's a great view of the sun setting over the Liver Building – it's starting to feel more like fun than work.

But then – ping. Another job.

This time we cycle to the KFC in St John's Market. It feels surreal wheeling the bikes into a shopping centre. After waiting a few minutes for the order, we're on our way.

I struggle to keep up on the steep hill, but despite the dark, the couriers manage to spot me and we make it to the takeaway delivery address OK.

Once again, it's a block of serviced apartments. The customer arrives wearing a hoodie and flip flops and retreats from the cold as quickly as possible.

The phone pings again. I'm ready for my own tea by now, but for the couriers, this is only their third delivery of the night.

Although they may get less money for their work in the next few weeks, there is no doubt that they are in demand. Students are back, the nights drawing in and Liverpool's restaurant scene is booming.

Mike says the couriers plan to continue their campaign, not just because they want Deliveroo to recognise reliable workers, but because he feels that new riders may not realise that they are being exploited.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

He says: “When the students are gone, they are not reliable as full time workers. They work very random hours and they won't stick to the hours, but we will because our lives are tied to the job.

“But if we walk out now the exploitation is not going to get any better.

“When you walk out of a normal 9-5 job you feel nice, but then you start to realise you are vulnerable. It is not apparent at first, it takes time.”

What Deliveroo says about the protests

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: "Deliveroo is proud to offer flexible, well-paid work to over 25,000 self-employed riders in the UK.

"Riders consistently tell us that flexibility is what they value most about riding with Deliveroo. They can choose when and where to work and whether to accept an order, allowing them to fit their work around their life, not the other way round.

"As well as providing flexible work, Deliveroo wants to give riders security. That is why Deliveroo was the first company in the on-demand economy to offer riders free accident insurance for all riders."