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I'd just like to add my own anecdote in here. Delivering food for Doordash/Uber Eats is the reason I was able to stave off homelessness last year. By adhering t

I'd just like to add my own anecdote in here. Delivering food for Doordash/Uber Eats is the reason I was able to stave off homelessness last year. By adhering to a strict schedule, I was able to make ~$1000/week in a moderately populated area (~180k pop) where the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment is $800-$1000/month. The reasons I stopped was 1. Their "automated" systems are trash. I was supposed to receive some perks for being one of the better drivers (higher ratings, consistently accept offers, etc.). And I did receive them. Then I didn't. Then I did. Then I didn't. Over and over again over the course of a day, and none of their support staff could speak proper English, so trying to communicate that problem was absolutely miserable. Over all it was such an awful experience that I just gave up on delivery all together. 2. Hours were long. 12-14 hour days, 6-7 days per week. Great for learning discipline. Not so great for enjoying life.

kibwen 4y ago
> ~$1000/week Does that include car-related expenses? If not, what did they amount to?
- MerelyMortal 4y ago
  That's a good point, and it's still probably higher than average, but one should also consider what car-related expenses someone has at a 52k/year salary job commuting 1 hour to and from work each day. (I imagine the delivery driver used their car cumulatively more than 2 hours per day, but how much more, I don't know.)
  - Mockapapella 4y ago
    My car was sitting in parking lots, being turned on and turned off, and driven around for about 12-14 hours per day towards the end there. That only happened for maybe 2 months. After I was finished and managed to land a better paying job, I ended up getting some much needed repairs on my car that would have not been fun to make up the cost of while I was delivering.
- Mockapapella 4y ago
  On the high end, gas was ~$200/week. I was getting a $70 oil change every 1.5 months. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head (I only delivered for 7 months with a much slower pace at the beginning, from about January to the beginning of August of last year). So nearly 25% of my income was going to just maintenance, but the miles from driving as well as all expenses to maintain my car could be written off on my taxes. I think with everything involved I only paid something stupid low like a couple hundred in taxes.

kibwen 4y ago

> ~$1000/week Does that include car-related expenses? If not, what did they amount to?

MerelyMortal 4y ago
That's a good point, and it's still probably higher than average, but one should also consider what car-related expenses someone has at a 52k/year salary job commuting 1 hour to and from work each day. (I imagine the delivery driver used their car cumulatively more than 2 hours per day, but how much more, I don't know.)
- Mockapapella 4y ago
  My car was sitting in parking lots, being turned on and turned off, and driven around for about 12-14 hours per day towards the end there. That only happened for maybe 2 months. After I was finished and managed to land a better paying job, I ended up getting some much needed repairs on my car that would have not been fun to make up the cost of while I was delivering.
Mockapapella 4y ago
On the high end, gas was ~$200/week. I was getting a $70 oil change every 1.5 months. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head (I only delivered for 7 months with a much slower pace at the beginning, from about January to the beginning of August of last year). So nearly 25% of my income was going to just maintenance, but the miles from driving as well as all expenses to maintain my car could be written off on my taxes. I think with everything involved I only paid something stupid low like a couple hundred in taxes.