If there is anybody on is forum with experience of driving for Uber or Didi or Ola can I please ask what is the realistic income one can get after 30-40 hrs per week in Sydney?
Thank you.
Realistic Income from Uber / DiDi Driving
Kennard on 16/03/2021 - 22:06
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Or $0 if there are no passengers.
Zero income, but there will still be expenses.
Cost of renting a car between $200-$300 a week if you dont own one, fuel. Not aware other expenses.
Does that include insurance?
Most of companies I checked (Splend, Ridelender etc) include it in weekly rental
@Kennard: But will that insurance cover using it for business? I doubt it.
Honestly I can't see how it can be viable if you're having to rent a vehicle.
What about opportunity cost?
but if you weren't going to do anything else, then opportunity cost is zero!
Not aware other expenses
If renting a car, they normally include insurance, but double check. Also check to see what they cover and don't cover. ie repairs/servicing/towing for breakdowns etc
You'll be looking at fuel costs yourself + cost of cleaning the car, aka car washes if you can't do that yourself.
Some carry water/snacks, so add these in.
You'll need phone chargers for paxs and a decent one for yourself, phone holder etc.
You'll need a decent phone and mobile plan.
There are some stickers/signage, but that should come with the car or uber etc.
But the biggest expense, will be GST/taxes and car hire etc.
Remember gross income is not 'profit'. You take your gross income, take out some expenses/taxes/gst/super = profit aka take home pay.
I think I have seen a blog post suggesting around $25 an hour after fuel, but that didn’t allow for other car expenses.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/608101?page=1#comment-1017…
I started out doing uber and grew my business over the last 5+ years so being self employed has taught me things are possible you just have to known what to do to make it happen:)
I can't answer your question, but wanted to point out something I saw today- financials from an Uber driver who turned over $56k last year, and of that, the Uber fees were over $20k. That just seemed like a massive cut. Then there was fuel, insurance, car maintenance etc… he cleared around $17000 in total.
Unless you know how many hours he did, that could good or bad.
Never having used the service, I don't know what the charges are like so couldn't begin to estimate hours worked. I was just amazed at the size of Uber's cut.
I drove for them in 2019.
They took 27% of the fare. They did not cover the GST, so as a driver I had to register for GST then pay 1/11th of the total fare (before uber's cut) in additional tax.
So that's 36+% gone before expenses.
I did not find it worthwhile.
Is that $17000 after tax?
You don't pay tax on earnings of <$18,200.
So there is basically no level of earning where he could dip below $18,200 and still be getting taxed.
Assuming that the Uber fees would count as business expenses…but I guess that depends on whether a driver is considered an employee or contractor
Thats really huge cut for Uber. I wonder if driving for Didi would be better as apparently they charge less.
But you probably have the issue of less customers.
While ther are several services out there, Uber is definately the most recognisable, and while I don't have figures I would suggest they get the most business.
Yes, that makes sense
I'd guess that renting a car is the worst possible option for rideshare
$300/week?! You may as well be paying one off on finance, at least your money would be paying off an asset you'd own
Spoken like a true car salesman :D
But yea, I agree with you.
Trouble is people have done this, then 8 months in Ube drops them for low ratings, but they still owe 4yrs of finance they now can’t pay.
Sell the car?
If you're buying a somewhat newer but used car, it's likely copped a lot of the initial depreciation anyway, so the price you paid vs what it's worth in a year should average out unless you buy something with terrible resale value at an inflated price.
I think doing Uber is just enough to get by. Just to pay your bills while you find a better job.
I think it would be better to find a second casual job, you need to factor the waiting time as well in ridesharing.
Only time I have heard of driving a ride share that I thought was a good idea was when I got one to the airport once.
Guy lived near me, about 25-30mins from the airport but worked near the airport and started at 6am. Every morning he would log on, pick up a nearby FIFO worker, take them to the airport (which is essentially his daily commute anyway) and then go and work his day job. Didn't ask what he made off it but thought it was a good idea as it should at least cover the running costs of his car each week and there's little risk in picking up someone dodgy/drunk/etc.Spoke to a guy who was a teacher, similar story. Job or 2 on the way to work, then on the way home
Like an actual ride share
Precisely!
Wasn't this the original intention of being an uber driver? Use it as a little extra income on routes you were already planning and not being a full time driver?
Yep. Then the taxi industry lobby/regulators ruined that dream for everyone… 😥
No, they called out Uber’s lie. It is NOT a ride share service and was never intended to be. It is and always has been set up as a hire car service similar to the chauffeur driven cars with the HC plates.
So as a hire car service, they need to be treated exactly the same from regulatory, insurance and tax perspectives.
It is not a taxi service as you cannot hail them off the street like you can with a taxi.
@Foxxster: You're right that this wasn't Uber's original intention (at least, not back in 2008: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2019/05/10/uber-ipo-o…). Good point.
To clarify, I was excited at one time by the prospect described of drivers being paid to casually provide rideshare along routes we were already planning to take. This could have provided amazing benefits to fare affordability, reduced traffic congestion, carbon emissions, increased ride share driver availability, etc, etc. This was the dream (ie my short-lived dream) that was ruined by the subsequent steps taken by regulators. And it seems I'm still a little bitter about it :-)
i did it for a period of about 6 months, i have a 7 seater luxury so the opportunities were higher
during the winter time of 2019 in sydney CBD.
- friday night from about 5pm - 2am .
- saturday night from about 7pm to about 3am- each night would be about $600 but that doesn't account for fees to Uber and fuel.
- each night driven was about 400km.
$600/night sounds like a lot, but if you take Uber's cut (20%?) and the expenses of driving 400km each night, are you left with very much?
I'm also thinking about the costs of wear and tear on a luxury vehicle vs that of a regular vehicle too.
400km x 3 nights/wk x 6months = 31,200km. yikes! that's a decent chunk of a car's life.
bare in mind that was a good night… if it was raining or weather wasn't too good then its less income. but you also drive less but the amount of time you spend is the same.
$600 is probably a good night.. saying that idn;t do that every weekend i think over the course of the 6 months i did about 15,000km
some are generous and would give a tip of a few dollars.
some are great conversationsearly on a friday and saturday night is good later in the night can get dicey… but had been fortunate that didn't get any real drunks, dirty of smelly people.
the worst is when you have one that has a smoke right before you pick up. i have a deodoriser spray ready and as soon as they get out i open the window and spray the crap out of the car and make sure they see i do it.
the best is when you get a pretty dressed up lad or lady and their cologne or perfume makes the car smell nice for little while.
It really doesn't sound like it's worth it for cash alone. If you're really bored, you could get out and do some driving though. Guess it gives options. If you had a $600/night, how much of it do you think is your "profit" for the night (if you don't mind me asking, of course!)?
@bobbified: probably over the 6 months averaging each night or day out … i reckon it was about $30-$35 per hour in the pocket…
that is also including TAX and GSTcaveat,
- the more time you spend out on the road doesn't necessarily mean you'll earn more
- the more time you spend driving you'll learn more about where and when is the best time to drive.
ok as a second income if you have the time.
- i prioritised time with kids first i often waited till they were asleep before i went out to drive.
- i if the driving time and social engagements were to clash i would choose the later.i purely did it to supplement my income just to see what it was like.
@Archi: install a camera and put videos of you pranking them on youtube.
sell candy/drinks in the car for $1.
Get contacts with other agencies, and drop someone off.
Moonshine by picking up whales from the airport, give them a business card and wait for private rides.
Moonshine by picking up whales from the airport
I had to read that twice..
I was thinking.. "7 seat luxury and whale? Yes they'd fit comfortably. but.. ooooooooooooooooooh.. you mean that kind of whale. Not someone of whale size!" LOL
I think you mean moonlight?
Uber's fee was 27.5% when I drove for them, and you have to pay the GST on the fare to the government (another 9%).
Most of these times would be surge pricing otherwise would probably be 20% less?
I drove Uber around 4 years ago; did it for about six weeks to see what it was like. My goal was to make $100-$150 a week and any money I made was spent straight away - either going to nice dinner or having a few cocktails at some hip speakeasy bars out there.
Fortunately, I already owned a car and lived in the CBD so I would only 'drive' if there was a price surge in place. There were certain times like Friday / Saturday nights or Saturday / Sunday brunch hours that were very worthwhile but outside of this time, it was pretty miserly.
I would be at home on a Saturday night in my apartment, it would be like surging 1.7x and I'd log on and before I knew it, I would pick up someone nearby (ie started driving almost immediately) and go for a 50km drive out north-west (and 50kms back), on the motorway (rider pays), and I'd get home in around two hours and that one ride earned me $85 net (after GST collection and uber fees). I would have my app logged on for the return trip with the goal of going home (uber can find me rides in my direction 2x per day at that time) but at midnight not many are heading back into the city but that's totally cool.
On a 50km trip, on surge rates, it might be like $130 for the trip gross. The expense side is GST is $130/11 = $11.82, uber collects say 25%so $32.50, hence $130 less $32.50 less $11.82 = $85.68.
For car expenses, as I was not driving a lot I used the fixed method deduction (used a logbook) which was around $0.65 per km at that time … so since I drove 100kms, my car deduction is $65.00.
Hence, technically I made a $20.68 profit after all expenses for a two-hour ride which I would then have to add to my annual tax return as an income and be taxed at whatever tax bracket I was in at the time.
Yes I stopped as 1. I didn't see the value in driving especially during non surge price 2. wear / tear on my new car 3. didn't really need that extra money but 4. was really happy that I got to experience what it was like.
- wear / tear on my new car
It doesn't stop a lot of people. It cracks me up when I see a few Porsche SUVs with words "courier" and full of big brown boxes inside. Might as well drive a Yaris and sit at home chilling out.
That's probably me with the Porsche.
I love being able to park in loading zones.
I wonder if driving for Didi is better. Their commissions are not as high as uber.
most people that drive full time will be running multiple apps at the same time.
Yes, some cars have all 3 stickers at the back - Uber, Didi and Ola
I'm amazed that people really need to ask if ride-share driving is a good way to make money when virtually the entire workforce is made up of recent, unskilled immigrants.
What other high-paying, cushy jobs are there dominated by unskilled migrants?
Prostitution
I think you might also want to know the expenses…