10 ways you can make money driving as a side hustle

If you can get a reasonably reliable car, congratulations! Making money from driving is one of the best side hustles!

A decent car is the biggest asset most Americans own, other than their homes. There are lots of ways you can make money by driving or with your car! In fact, I have seen some people trying to make quick money by selling their cars.

But what you may not realize is that there are plenty of other ways to make money with your car. If you have a car and don’t mind driving it, you’re on your way to earning hundreds of dollars a month.

This has been true for decades — a paper route or pizza delivery job has always meant using your own wheels — but the app-based gig economy and the Internet in general have greatly contributed to the increased ease of getting paid to drive your own car. Without further ado, here are some of the best ways to start making money driving your car today.

If you want other money making ideas, check out our Side Hustle Ideas post.

Uber and Lyft have changed how we get transportation since their launches in 2009 and 2012, respectively. While Uber is still the biggest name in the ride-sharing space, Lyft is known for being more driver-friendly. Many drivers keep both apps open to increase their chances of securing rides and increasing income.

Driving with either service has its pros and cons. Although ridesharing can increase wear and tear on your car, and earnings may vary depending on driving habits, it is a straightforward way to earn, especially if you have a qualified car and a clean driving record.

For women and non-binary drivers, Lyft’s Women+ Connect feature provides an added benefit, allowing them to choose to match more often with women and non-binary drivers, creating a more comfortable driving environment. Women+ Connect can be turned on or off as needed, giving women greater control over their experience on the road.

To achieve peak profits, consider driving during times of high demand, such as Friday and Saturday nights or weekday peak hours. Prices are based on distance traveled, time, and sometimes “plus pricing,” which raises prices during busy periods. Both Uber and Lyft have specific vehicle requirements, such as having four doors and meeting state standards.

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These days, everyone wants food and other items delivered right to their door! If you’re willing to do the work instead, you can spend your time listening to music while delivering food from restaurant to home. Of course scheduling is flexible – you can choose when you sign up for delivery, rather than being appointed by a manager.

One of the most popular delivery services is Uber Eats. You can deliver food instead of people!

DoorDash It’s another good app for people whose cars can’t handle the demands of Uber and Lyft. All you have to do is be 18 years old and have a clean driving record. You can have food delivered as well as other items from area stores. With DoorDash, you get paid for each delivery and you also keep the tips.

If you’re willing to do more than just pick up and deliver pre-packaged orders, Instacart It can be a great option. You go grocery shopping for people using their list, then you deliver their groceries to their home using your car. You can earn $10 to $25 per hour depending on how busy the service is when you want to work.

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One annoying thing about tying up money in major assets like a house or car is that it often just “stays there” while you’re not actively using it. Airbnb helps you make use of unused bedrooms, and you can do the same with your car.

Toro It is another service that allows you to rent your car Airbnb style. The vehicle must be from 2005 or newer, have a clean title, and have less than 130,000 miles. There’s a great calculator on the site that lets you input some basics and see how much you could earn.

Wandering aroundfor example, allows you to rent out your car while it’s parked – so not only can you avoid parking fees, but you can also make some money! Getaround covers insurance, rents vets, and installs a device that allows people to get into your car without the key. The amount you can earn depends on how good your car is, but it could be thousands of dollars per year. (Getaround takes 40% of the rental fee, and you get 60%, paid once a month.)

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What if you don’t want to put any “extra” miles on your car? With the options we’ve talked about so far, you should be prepared to drive more than usual.

But what if you could make money just by driving your car normally? If you are willing to place ads on your car, it turns out that you can make a significant amount.

wrap It is an app-based service that allows you to communicate with potential advertisers. Once you register and download the app, the service records where you go for a period of time. It then matches you with a campaign for local or national companies, and partially or completely “wraps” your car (don’t worry—the wraps are removable and won’t damage the car). Depending on your car, your location, and the amount of your car coverage, you can earn between $100 and $450 a month without doing anything you wouldn’t normally do.

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I lived in New York City for a long time, where I didn’t have a car and almost none of my friends had a car either. So when I needed to move something I couldn’t carry in my backpack, I usually rented a “pickup guy” (which was sometimes a woman with a hatchback!) from Craigslist. You don’t have to help people carry their stuff, or have a huge car, although that might help you get more work. You can earn between $20 to $50 per hour depending on your location and the services you can provide.

If you have a cargo van or box truck, in addition to Craigslist, you can try apps like sharing.

Check out the new app Dolly, which allows you to connect with people looking to move things. Everything from moving house to picking up items from a garage sale.

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Mostly, you pay your insurance company. But some companies will pay You Being a safe driver.

Allstatefor example, will cut you a check for $50 every six months if you don’t get into an accident. There’s nothing you can do but drive safely!

Other insurance companies will give you discounts (which are more like free money!) for safe driving. State Farm insurance discounts up to 50% If its smartphone app indicates that you’re driving safely (in other words, the app tracks a few things about the way you drive, like how fast you’re going and whether you’ve come to a complete stop, and tells State Farm whether you’re a good driver or not; you’ll get discounts based on that information).

Amazon Flex is Amazon’s solution to one of its biggest problems: its customers want faster and faster delivery, and the post office, UPS, and FedEx can’t necessarily get things to customers within an hour or two of orders arriving!

You can use your own car to be an Amazon delivery company using Amazon Flex. You can earn $18 to $25 per hour. As with many delivery services, you can schedule a range of availability. Then you select packages from an Amazon warehouse and the app gives you directions to deliver them.

Amazon only hires in certain markets, on a rolling basis. Right now, in mid-August 2018, we are hiring in New York City, Northern Virginia, Rochester, Pittsburgh, and a few other cities. If you don’t live in one of these locations, you’ll need to enter your information and Amazon will contact you when it’s hiring in your area.

There are many people who need mobility, but are too young or too old to drive themselves. Some seniors use ridesharing services “normally,” using their smartphones, but others need more help.

ElderCare.com And other local services in your community may help you find jobs that include transporting seniors in your own vehicle. (Some cities also have partnerships with Uber or Lyft to connect seniors for rides.)

If you live on a college campus, you may have access to childcare jobs—you can advertise yourself, or answer ads on your college network. Many childcare jobs involve transporting children – dropping them off, taking them to summer camp, school, daycare, etc.

HopSkipDrive It is a transportation service for children aged six years and above. It now operates in about half of the United States. As you might imagine, there are fairly stringent requirements for potential drivers. You must be at least 23 years old, not 18 (as is the case with most driving services), and have 5 years of childcare experience. You also need a clean driving record and need to pass a background check that includes fingerprints and an in-person interview. You will need a 2008 (or newer) four-door vehicle.

However, if you can meet these requirements, you can make more money per hour than you do with traditional ridesharing services – up to $30 per hour.

There are hundreds of non-app based jobs that nonetheless give a boost to people with reliable cars. This can be a great way to start a side hustle in another field!

Some examples include:

• Delivery driver for a specific restaurant
• Working on a movie, musical, or anything else where you can move equipment
• Social Worker (travel to clients’ homes)
• Nurse or occupational therapist (travel to clients’ homes)
• Event photography, catering, decoration, and working in party or wedding venues
• Hairdressing, home cleaning, and any other service occupation that people might want you to come to instead of coming to meet you at an office or store

Some of these jobs require specialized skills, such as occupational therapy. But others are services you can get from Craigslist or other local job boards.

Overall, if you already own a car, you’re in a great position to get an easy side job that will allow you to make money driving. But car ownership can also give you access to other jobs that aren’t “driving” jobs but rely on reliable transportation.

Cars are not “investments” in the way that stocks, or even homes are – they are always Decrease in value over time. But if you can make money with your car in the meantime, you can offset some of that depreciation and make extra money along the way.