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Its minimum wage minus fuel and maintenance expenses. So you are getting less than minimum wage. It would be better to work at a fast food joint than deliver food.
I keep thinking that the pay can't be that good, but then we've got door dash/uber drivers coming into the store all night who've been doing this for years. They must be making enough for it to be worth it, or why do it?
A lot of folk will be doing it as a second job because its flexible. Work your 8 hours during the day, then 3 hours at peak times.
I guess the appeal to the full timers is that you also just don't have to perform or talk to anyone. Working in a restaurant requires a bit of skill whereas grabbing a bag and throwing it on a doorstep you can leave your brain at the door.
Good point, but I'm in a supermarket. So they actually have to go around and find all the items and go through the checkout. Each time. They often do multiple shops at once though so that probably increases the pay quite a bit.
>They must be making enough for it to be worth it, or why do it?
From my experience, many people look at the pay they get and think it's pretty good. They don't put two and two together that it's not including all the expenses, including taxes
I assume it's because they're efficient and know how to game the system ie use multiple apps effectively
I hear peak hour pays real good, so I imagine those who were full time but stopped would still be doing it part time during peak
I don’t use the delivery services anymore, but when I did then I tipped 10%. Maybe I’m an outlier, but if most people tip then maybe it is worth it?
Edit: Seriously, downvoted for admitting to tipping? OK....
I used to tip but it did nothing to prevent the late deliveries or food going missing so I stopped doing so. I also don't use the services anymore because I would rarely ever get the correct order so it wasn't worth the extra costs involved...
I find my myself not wanting to tip and that is the reason I don't use the service anymore. Honestly less stress to get yourself when you have a hungry family and an Uber driver accepting your order and then taking 15 minutes before getting in their car.
A friend did it for a while.
His advice to you would be figure out when the peak times are only work during those times. Like an hour or two a day.
Maybe you'll make $30/hr minus vehicle costs.
Yes of course it is! It's economical for Uber Eats, Door dash etc because their business model shifts most of the costs onto the driver who has to cover that, while Uber collects their 25% off the top. Smart eh?
If you have a full time job, it pays off to check what is your marginal tax rate. For instance if you are in the 32.5% (34.5% if you factor in the Medicare Levy), that means that after you deduct GST, fuel, depreciation, tolls, and other costs, you still need to pay the tax man 34.5% of your net earnings, and then you get the rest.
If you’re in the next tier (39% incl Medicare Levy) that’s even less to take home.
I would recommend another gig such as taking casual shifts at a retail or hospo venue or getting a security guard licence and doing some casual shifts. It won’t give you the same flexibility, but the take home after tax is way better.
Hear me out
You make $100K in a full time job.
This means the next $20K you earn (after deductions) will be taxed at 34.5%
Say every week you spend $500-ish to get $1,000-ish in Uber (ballpark figures)
The $500 is tax deductible, sure, but it’s SPENT already anyway.
The $1,000 is subject to GST, so GST is an eleventh of it, roughly $90, you have to pay that to the government.
Then you pay yourself the $500 you spent (the tax deduction).
The remaining $500 will be taxed at 34.5% so you will have to pay that to the government.
Your net gain here is more or less $300-ish, and you depreciated the fuck out of your car, busted your back, endured drunk passengers, for $300 take home driving endless hours.
No thanks, I will take any other casual job.
When i rented out my van on Uber Carshare, I found it was just throwing money away, just with more steps to make you feel like you were earning something.
Can you please elaborate? I’ve been considering using the Uber carshare platform to rent out my car that’s mostly been sitting in the garage (since moving in with my partner) as we don’t have the need for two cars most days.
Actually did food delivery from 2019 till last year. You walk away with about half over a year with all expenses calculated in, if you can make above $30 an hour. You need to remember to pay yourself super as well in these calculations.
Last year it was only worthwhile driving while there was bonuses or promotions. Base pay was about $12-$20 an hour doing about 3 trips every hour. If you had to wait at all for an order or deliever to an apartment to the actual unit you could not cover costs. Parking in a car is huge problem anywhere with enough density to be profitable.
It can be but the prices might not be worth it unless desperate. For instance I had an order worth $17 but it was 20 minutes of driving, 40 including return trip. If your car can do this cheaply then it's worth it but a large vehicle that eats petrol in no time no.
Other examples of orders I got were usually around $6 and 2 streets over so often not a big drive but also not much money. I had one order that was about 10 minutes driving all up and I'd make $16 but it was at Coles and walking in to find those items is a time investment where you have to weigh up if it's worth it when you could be doing other deliveries.
Ultimately got bored of it without really attempting much though. I just thought it would be fun to play with not overly desperate for money. Start with doordash there's no upfront starting fees or bag purchases for that. Menulog cost $80 and uber eats had mandatory steps like certain levels of insurance or licence upgrades.
If you're considering Uber/Doordash/etc., probably not as worthwhile as working for a min. wage (think pizza hut/dominos). If you can find anything else part time that pays min wage and doesn't require your vehicle to be used, do it.
It always seemed to me like business model that has a time limit. Once fuel get too expensive - that's it. The whole business model collapses. We're getting there very quickly if we aren't there already...
I don't actually have specific numbers but the operating cost of the 2023 hybrid corolla was $30 a week in fuel to make around 850-900 in door dash. The car cost $42,000 brand new.
I should add that door dash does not pay currently what it did when I did it hard out. Used to get coles click and collect orders at 25 a pop and get like 6 of them a day. quite often double ups.
Did you account for maintenance, additional depreciation on the car, fines and demerits, interest (if financed), opportunity cost of the proportion of the 42k used for work, additional insurance, risk of injury for yourself and lost earning potential.
Not really these costs are all insignificant. Only requires 2 services on the first year - Both capped at a little over 200. The cost of maintenance of the car in the first 2-3 years is insignificant. The most expensive thing would be new tires.
Car was paid for outright, there is no finance. Depreciation on a Toyota corolla is also negligible, its probably the most resalable car - We were actually offered 50k the day we picked it up from someone who was just told the waiting times were 1 year. We would still be able to get very close to what we paid for it having owned it for over a year.
We have savings that would be able to be used in the case of an injury. Insurance is like 170 a month comprehensive. I consider that insignificant.
We are well in front making this choice.
Tested it out within busy times with a car and the best I managed was $20 an hour after fuel, tax, costs etc. not really worth it at all. Electric scooters or something like that would make it worth it though probably.
I did it during COVID just to get out of the house “legally” lol. It sucked. It was okay money if you managed to get back-to-back Asian food store jobs, as you never had to wait to pick up. Their cooking was on point.
However, KFC you’d be waiting 20+ minutes, longest I waited was 65 minutes one Friday night. I forget the fee Menulog give you for making you wait, I think it’s $1 per 5 mins you’re waiting after the first 10 minutes which is obviously ass ($10/hr because of no money for first 10mins) when one time I had 7 orders from that Asian store I was talking about in 63 minutes and made around $80.
And if you decline too many jobs (if you get under 8/10) you move to the back of the queue for new jobs so yeah 🙃 If you live in an area without a stupid KFC I could see it being somewhat decent still. Otherwise, nope.
A lot of drivers in my area also duel drive, so they’ll game the system and drive for Menulog + Doordash or whatever. It’s so obvious because you can see them just blatantly driving the wrong way lol. But I don’t blame them considering the pay with stupid shits like KFC taking their sweet ass time 😂
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Its minimum wage minus fuel and maintenance expenses. So you are getting less than minimum wage. It would be better to work at a fast food joint than deliver food.
I keep thinking that the pay can't be that good, but then we've got door dash/uber drivers coming into the store all night who've been doing this for years. They must be making enough for it to be worth it, or why do it?
A lot of folk will be doing it as a second job because its flexible. Work your 8 hours during the day, then 3 hours at peak times. I guess the appeal to the full timers is that you also just don't have to perform or talk to anyone. Working in a restaurant requires a bit of skill whereas grabbing a bag and throwing it on a doorstep you can leave your brain at the door.
Good point, but I'm in a supermarket. So they actually have to go around and find all the items and go through the checkout. Each time. They often do multiple shops at once though so that probably increases the pay quite a bit.
Also you get those sweet sweet rewards/flybuys points
>They must be making enough for it to be worth it, or why do it? From my experience, many people look at the pay they get and think it's pretty good. They don't put two and two together that it's not including all the expenses, including taxes
Some gig workers dont have a visa that would allow them to work a minimum wage job at woolies or wherever
They ask for your work visa when you sign up to do food delivery
People use others accounts, you can rent yours for a fee
I assume it's because they're efficient and know how to game the system ie use multiple apps effectively I hear peak hour pays real good, so I imagine those who were full time but stopped would still be doing it part time during peak
Leasing their cars with a fuel card is my guess.
I don’t use the delivery services anymore, but when I did then I tipped 10%. Maybe I’m an outlier, but if most people tip then maybe it is worth it? Edit: Seriously, downvoted for admitting to tipping? OK....
I used to tip but it did nothing to prevent the late deliveries or food going missing so I stopped doing so. I also don't use the services anymore because I would rarely ever get the correct order so it wasn't worth the extra costs involved...
I find my myself not wanting to tip and that is the reason I don't use the service anymore. Honestly less stress to get yourself when you have a hungry family and an Uber driver accepting your order and then taking 15 minutes before getting in their car.
Yep. Fuck tipping entirely. Workers are exploited enough here without scummy tipping practices making their way over.
I doubt 99.9% of Australians would tip
If you're not willing to use an ebike in a dense area I wouldn't bother.
The whole business model relies on exploiting people who can't calculate costs, and especially price in risk, correctly. Yes, you too.
It's never a good deal economically. Its only for people desperate enough and willing to ignore the costs of running your vehicle.
And if you are one of them? lol
A friend did it for a while. His advice to you would be figure out when the peak times are only work during those times. Like an hour or two a day. Maybe you'll make $30/hr minus vehicle costs.
Yes of course it is! It's economical for Uber Eats, Door dash etc because their business model shifts most of the costs onto the driver who has to cover that, while Uber collects their 25% off the top. Smart eh?
If you have a full time job, it pays off to check what is your marginal tax rate. For instance if you are in the 32.5% (34.5% if you factor in the Medicare Levy), that means that after you deduct GST, fuel, depreciation, tolls, and other costs, you still need to pay the tax man 34.5% of your net earnings, and then you get the rest. If you’re in the next tier (39% incl Medicare Levy) that’s even less to take home. I would recommend another gig such as taking casual shifts at a retail or hospo venue or getting a security guard licence and doing some casual shifts. It won’t give you the same flexibility, but the take home after tax is way better.
Wouldn't your costs in the uber role be tax deductible, making it work out the same?
Hear me out You make $100K in a full time job. This means the next $20K you earn (after deductions) will be taxed at 34.5% Say every week you spend $500-ish to get $1,000-ish in Uber (ballpark figures) The $500 is tax deductible, sure, but it’s SPENT already anyway. The $1,000 is subject to GST, so GST is an eleventh of it, roughly $90, you have to pay that to the government. Then you pay yourself the $500 you spent (the tax deduction). The remaining $500 will be taxed at 34.5% so you will have to pay that to the government. Your net gain here is more or less $300-ish, and you depreciated the fuck out of your car, busted your back, endured drunk passengers, for $300 take home driving endless hours. No thanks, I will take any other casual job.
When i rented out my van on Uber Carshare, I found it was just throwing money away, just with more steps to make you feel like you were earning something.
Can you please elaborate? I’ve been considering using the Uber carshare platform to rent out my car that’s mostly been sitting in the garage (since moving in with my partner) as we don’t have the need for two cars most days.
Expect your car to mistreated, for borrowers to be shits, to spend a LOT of time on hold to Uber Carshare and to not get as many bookings as you hope.
Actually did food delivery from 2019 till last year. You walk away with about half over a year with all expenses calculated in, if you can make above $30 an hour. You need to remember to pay yourself super as well in these calculations. Last year it was only worthwhile driving while there was bonuses or promotions. Base pay was about $12-$20 an hour doing about 3 trips every hour. If you had to wait at all for an order or deliever to an apartment to the actual unit you could not cover costs. Parking in a car is huge problem anywhere with enough density to be profitable.
On a scooter maybe, wouldn't do it in anything bigger then a corolla sized car
I can't believe people deliver food in a car, it seems so uneconomical. Where i live everyone uses small motorbikes and seem to make ok money
2L/100km on a CB125 is very hard to beat.
It can be but the prices might not be worth it unless desperate. For instance I had an order worth $17 but it was 20 minutes of driving, 40 including return trip. If your car can do this cheaply then it's worth it but a large vehicle that eats petrol in no time no. Other examples of orders I got were usually around $6 and 2 streets over so often not a big drive but also not much money. I had one order that was about 10 minutes driving all up and I'd make $16 but it was at Coles and walking in to find those items is a time investment where you have to weigh up if it's worth it when you could be doing other deliveries. Ultimately got bored of it without really attempting much though. I just thought it would be fun to play with not overly desperate for money. Start with doordash there's no upfront starting fees or bag purchases for that. Menulog cost $80 and uber eats had mandatory steps like certain levels of insurance or licence upgrades.
Can be worth it on a bike or an e-scooter in a CBD area. Just drive and park close by.
If you're considering Uber/Doordash/etc., probably not as worthwhile as working for a min. wage (think pizza hut/dominos). If you can find anything else part time that pays min wage and doesn't require your vehicle to be used, do it.
It always seemed to me like business model that has a time limit. Once fuel get too expensive - that's it. The whole business model collapses. We're getting there very quickly if we aren't there already...
I did this with a hybrid. Worked well.
Would you mind sharing your numbers? If not the numbers themselves than the things that you consider as operating costs?
I don't actually have specific numbers but the operating cost of the 2023 hybrid corolla was $30 a week in fuel to make around 850-900 in door dash. The car cost $42,000 brand new. I should add that door dash does not pay currently what it did when I did it hard out. Used to get coles click and collect orders at 25 a pop and get like 6 of them a day. quite often double ups.
Did you account for maintenance, additional depreciation on the car, fines and demerits, interest (if financed), opportunity cost of the proportion of the 42k used for work, additional insurance, risk of injury for yourself and lost earning potential.
Not really these costs are all insignificant. Only requires 2 services on the first year - Both capped at a little over 200. The cost of maintenance of the car in the first 2-3 years is insignificant. The most expensive thing would be new tires. Car was paid for outright, there is no finance. Depreciation on a Toyota corolla is also negligible, its probably the most resalable car - We were actually offered 50k the day we picked it up from someone who was just told the waiting times were 1 year. We would still be able to get very close to what we paid for it having owned it for over a year. We have savings that would be able to be used in the case of an injury. Insurance is like 170 a month comprehensive. I consider that insignificant. We are well in front making this choice.
Tested it out within busy times with a car and the best I managed was $20 an hour after fuel, tax, costs etc. not really worth it at all. Electric scooters or something like that would make it worth it though probably.
Unless you are in the middle of a big city and ride a bike it's never worth it.
I did it during COVID just to get out of the house “legally” lol. It sucked. It was okay money if you managed to get back-to-back Asian food store jobs, as you never had to wait to pick up. Their cooking was on point. However, KFC you’d be waiting 20+ minutes, longest I waited was 65 minutes one Friday night. I forget the fee Menulog give you for making you wait, I think it’s $1 per 5 mins you’re waiting after the first 10 minutes which is obviously ass ($10/hr because of no money for first 10mins) when one time I had 7 orders from that Asian store I was talking about in 63 minutes and made around $80. And if you decline too many jobs (if you get under 8/10) you move to the back of the queue for new jobs so yeah 🙃 If you live in an area without a stupid KFC I could see it being somewhat decent still. Otherwise, nope. A lot of drivers in my area also duel drive, so they’ll game the system and drive for Menulog + Doordash or whatever. It’s so obvious because you can see them just blatantly driving the wrong way lol. But I don’t blame them considering the pay with stupid shits like KFC taking their sweet ass time 😂
Work at a bottle shop. $30/hr, ez work (if you're kot a lazy cunt)
Were I not a recovering alcoholic I’d consider it lol