Learn how to make a livable income with 3 tips
Being a delivery driver has all sorts of perks. You can set your own hours, work wherever you want, and you have the opportunity to earn a livable income.
However, for many it’s not all positive. Twitter has a trend of videos of people talking about how they are struggling to earn minimum wage working as a contractor for popular companies like UberEats and DoorDash.
The reality is that there are some who are earning $10 per hour and others who are earning $25 per hour for doing the exact same thing.
So what’s the difference between them?
After taking a deeper look, we created a list of tips that are pretty common things the higher wage earners are doing and we even found a rather unknown tip that you can try if you have an electric scooter.
Tip 1: Use a Light Electric Vehicle
Does it make sense to use a vehicle for delivery that costs you money every time you use it?
No, it does not.
Just in case you haven’t factored this into your equation, let us break it down for you.
Here are your fixed costs when using a gas powered vehicle for delivery:
- The price of the vehicle (average used vehicle ~$16,000 + expensive to finance): $$$$$
- Insurance (~$100/month): $$$
- Gas (~$320/month): $$$$
- Oil Change ($100/year): $
- Annual exhaust emissions test ($50 CA): $
- Tires (~$400): $$$
- Brakes, suspension, other maintenance ($550): $$$
- Annual vehicle registration (~$200): $$$
Here are your fixed costs when using a light electric vehicle for delivery:
- The price of the vehicle ($1,250 average price + interest free financing): $$$
- Charging the vehicle (most cost under $20/year): $
- Pandacare (theft, roadside assistance, maintenance for ~$29/month): $
As you can see in the example above for the gas powered vehicle, the price of the average monthly insurance (~$100) is equivalent to the entire cost of the purchase of an electric bike, electric scooter or electric moped.
Tip 2: Deliveries That Take More Time and Are Farther Away Will Increase Base Pay
Let’s examine UberEats and DoorDash. Both platforms exist to serve jobs to the drivers. The drivers today are contractors and can select a job or pass on it.
Here’s a common scenario: you have two people who at the same time say “I’ll occupy the next 30 minutes of your time” but person (A) lives 5 miles away has a bill for $45 and person (B) lives 1 mile away and has a bill for $15.
Which person do you choose to help?
The answer to this question may determine your income for the day/week/month or even the year if this is your full time job.
Many people who find themselves on the lower end of the hourly rate on these platforms will opt to help person (B) in the scenario. Logically, they have rationalized some reason which projects a favorable outcome for their choice (could be a high likelihood of receiving a tip, need more completed orders, shorter distance means more orders completed per hour, etc).
The short answer is select person (A).
Person (A) will take longer, but they have the ideal order to increase your hourly rate based on how the platforms have been designed.
From DoorDash: “Base pay from DoorDash to Dashers ranges from $2-$10+ per delivery. Deliveries that are expected to take more time, that require Dashers to travel a longer distance, and that are less popular with Dashers have higher base pay”
Tip 3: Add an E-Bike and an E-Scooter to the App for More Jobs
Did you know that you can add both an electric bike and an electric scooter as your vehicle on both UberEats and DoorDash?
All you need to do is contact their customer service to get your driver account setup.
Then when you sign in as a delivery driver, you can select which vehicle you would like to use, auto, bike, or e-scooter.
Depending on which mode you are in, the apps will present different jobs and different rates of pay. We suggest that you give it a try as the reports have been favorable that adding both a bike and a scooter helps to make more money as a delivery driver.
Do you have any tips we didn’t share?
We would love to hear them and so would our connections. Feel free to share them on social media and use the #ridepanda to get our attention!
