The two companies ERR spoke to are Bolt, and the similarly named, Finnish-owned Wolt.

The delivery fee here refers to the payment made to the courier, and not the component of the overall bill a customer pays when ordering.

Piret Pert a spokesperson for the latter firm, told ERR that since February last year, the company has used a system in which a delivery fee is calculated individually based on the complexity of the order in question.

"The fee is never the same for each order," Pert said. "Differences may arise due to the locations of tasks in different towns, districts, times of day, and weather conditions. Potential differences can also stem from compiled orders, and many other factors."

Pert added that the fee earned corresponds to the complexity of each task, and each courier can see this before choosing to accept or reject an order.

At Bolt Food, couriers' earnings are also composed of various components.

Jaagup Jalakas, head of Bolt Food in Estonia, said that these are subject to a coefficient which varies depending on demand at the time the order is placed areas or zones, and also promotions in relation to eateries involved.

"For example, during peak hours, couriers can make more. Our couriers are paid from the point in time at which they accept an order, meaning they earn while traveling to pick up the food from the restaurant," Jalakas said.

Neither Bolt nor Wolt were prepared to share specific amounts paid to couriers, but Jalakas noted that they have not amended courier fees in the recent past.

Neither company wished to disclose what percentage of the price of an order from a restaurant constitutes the agency fee, either.

Jalakas did mention that at Bolt Food, this amount is negotiated. Pert said that at Wolt, the company's contractual relations with restaurants operating via their platform remain confidential.

"As for pricing, Wolt does not set or otherwise regulate product prices. Partners decide themselves what the product prices listed will be on the platform," Pert said.

She also noted that since the inception of Wolt's operations in the Baltic states over seven years ago, the company has informed the Estonian Tax Board (MTA) on a monthly basis of the revenues of all couriers, restaurants, and other businesses operating on their platform.

Pert added that many couriers hold a service contract with Wolt which allows the company to pay income tax, social security tax, and unemployment insurance contributions on their behalf.

"Wolt couriers in Estonia receive sickness benefits, unemployment benefits, earn pensions eligibility, and have access to healthcare services meant for insured persons. As private couriers, we withhold state taxes from their fees and additionally pay social security and unemployment insurance contributions," Pert went on.

She said that couriers who work on Wolt's platform using a business account or who otherwise constitute a legal entity are responsible for paying their own taxes, but Wolt reports the incomes of all couriers to the MTA in any case.

According to Pert, around 2,000 couriers currently operate via Wolt's platform, while she stressed that these are not employees, but partners, of the company.

Jalakas put the figure of active couriers currently using the Bolt Food platform at around 3,000.

Acting as a courier for one company does not bar an individual from operating via the other's platform either; a third competitor, Fudy, has withdrawn from the restaurant delivery market.

In addition to food and drinks from restaurants, fast food outlets, street vendors, filling stations, cafes and bars, food and some non-edible items can be ordered via the apps from select grocery suppliers.

From a customer's perspective a delivery fee chargeable to them, which may be zero in some cases, is listed ahead of making an order.

Couriers also use four-wheeled transport, particularly in the colder months, as well as two-wheeled, when making deliveries.

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