One day you wake up realizing you have a smartphone, access to WIFI and have a car. You look around you and realize that you have a few hours a day spare and spend most of your time reading, watching movies or just goofing around on social media. You want to make some more money, but scratch your head trying to think of something brilliant to do.

Well,it’s time to stop thinking about what to do and to match that smartphone with your car and start driving and earning at the same time.

There are several options available to you, if your car is new, or at least 4 years old, and in good condition, even better if it has leather seats. If not, no worries, there is still a lot to do with both these tools in your arsenal.

The next thing you do is think about who you are

  • Are you an extrovert?
  • Are you a patient person?
  • Do you like people?
  • Can you drive for a few hours a day?
  • Can you keep your cool in traffic or when surrounded by driving apes?
  • Do you mind, or perhaps, can you manage to ignore rude people?

If you answered yes to all these questions, then you can become a rideshare driver. If you answered no to some of them, then you can become a delivery driver. So, there is a solution to your time issues, all you need to do is decide which type of person you are and drive with people or with packages.

Oh, and when I refer to patience, I don’t mean patient with other drivers, or patient with passengers, I also mean patient with warehouse operators, restaurant queues and customers that are rude and don’t leave tips.

The opportunities are many, the companies are varied, for instance:

Rideshare Driving includes

Uber, Lyft, Waze Carpool, Gett/Juno, Via, Wingz, Safr (for women drivers only), Hopskipdrive (for kiddie passengers), Summon, Arro, Fasten and so many more.

Food Delivery includes

UberEats, GrubHub, Postmates, DoorDash, TaskRabbit, Caviar, Munchery, Eat24, Umi Kitchen, Instacart, Chef’D, Beyond Menu and many more.

Package and Freight Delivery includes:

Roadie, Amazon Flex (and Prime), Uber Freight, Grabr, Shypezi, Nimber and many more.

As you can see from the long list of options, all that is required is you meet some pre-qualifications as a person, a driver and have access to, or own a vehicle and you can start working for anyone of these services.

How to Apply

The application process is quick, all you need to do is decide on which service or services you want to apply for. You then seek out a current driver there and ask for a referral code. The referral code gives you and the referrer a cash bonus based on the first few months of driving., and this can be worth up to $1,000 in some instances.

You then complete your online application, providing all the necessary documentation and proof of your identity, your insurance, your driving license as well as any other documents needed for a background screening check. For food delivery, the screening process is less stringent than with ridesharing. The same applies to the state of the vehicle you will drive.

The process usually takes anywhere from a week to two weeks. If you do not get a replywithin two weeks, you most probably have been rejected. This can come about if you have a blemished past. The rideshare industry checks as far back as 7 years for most crimes and driving issues.

Car Ownership

If your car does not meet up with the requirements, there are several options, and they include joining a fleet, selling your car and buying a replacement (new or used), just buying a new or used car, or leasing one. It is not considered to be economically viable to rent for rideshare or delivery purposes.

Taxation and Deductions

Consider that you are an independent contractor. For freight drivers that arecommonplace, for rideshare and delivery drivers, it is not. Once you decide to become a rideshare driver, you are becoming a self-employed individual, and this means you need to prepare tax return forms every year.This is not as bad as it sounds, and there are a lot of deductible items in rideshare driving.

Successful Driving

The final part is starting to drive. If you do pass all the requirements and can start driving, I suggest you read up about 5-star driving and try to start off right. Remember, we all start off with 5 stars, its how we complete our first rides that determine if we retain this status.

Driving is not just getting in a car and going somewhere; it is about providing exceptional service to strangers and making sure your name is known for quality. Another facet of rideshare driving is maintaining a blog, where you can share your thought, as well as your rides with other, and become part of a growing online community.

Income

So how much do uber drivers make? Don’t expect to become a millionaire driving for a living but do prepare to supplement or make an honest day’s income from successful driving. While you will read about companies boasting $25 an hour, it is much less. On average an UberX level rideshare driver can reach incomes of around $15 per hour net, so if you drive for 9 hours a day, you can make around $135 a day, which is $3,510 for 26 days work. That’s after deductions, and with this income, there won’t be much tax if any tax at all. (Note: Don’t believe what MIT wrote, if that were the case no one would be driving for Uber.)

About The Author: Bikram Bhangoo is the co-founder of Ridesharing Forum who helps rideshare drivers and riders to find answers to their most pressing questions. With over 5 years of experience, Bikram brings a vast amount of knowledge, style, and skills to help fellow drivers. He has given over 10,000 rides with Uber and more than 3,500 rides with Lyft.

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