Driving happens to be one of my favorite activities. It is awesome that the internet has opened up a bunch of ways for me to earn just by driving. If you also want to know how to earn money driving, I’ll be sharing my favorite methods in this blog post!
Use The Appropriate Vehicle
I have a friend who drives a sweet old school Ford Mustang fastback. It’s an awesome car and lovingly restored. The thing is super reliable (and even manages to get decent fuel mileage on the thing). As you would imagine, my buddy loves to drive his Mustang whenever he gets the chance. But as awesome as that Mustang is, it is not the right car to drive for cash.
The earning methods I’ll be listing below require the appropriate car. And by “appropriate” I mean something that can take the wear and tear of daily driving. If you’re not comfortable putting on the miles, chances are that’s not the correct vehicle to drive for money.
The appropriate vehicle will change depending on the side hustle you’re doing. For example, if you haul cargo on Dolly – which I’ll be covering in a bit – you’ll need a rugged truck. To deliver food, a smaller car (or even a motorcycle or scooter) might work. So the requirements differ. But generally, you’ll want something that is reliable on the day-to-day, gives you good fuel economy, and doesn’t cost too much to maintain (my friend’s Mustang costs a small fortune to keep up and running!).
If you need some ideas and information trying to decide which is the right vehicle for the type of side hustle you want to do, check out this article on Consumer Reports. It says:
“Drivers for ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft can put as much as 1,000 miles a week on their cars, says Harry Campbell, a ride-share consultant at therideshareguy.com. For that kind of heavy-duty driving, the things many people want in a car—reliability, fuel efficiency, and safety—become critical.”
It covers cars that are ideal for Uber or Lyft drivers, but I think some of the vehicles here have wider use. For example, Kia Soul would also be great for doing deliveries and carrying groceries. Heck, the Honda Odyssey (which the article recommends for Uber XL or Lyft Plus) might even work for hauling smaller cargo through Lorry. So before you drop cash on a down payment for a new vehicle, make sure you know what type of ride-sharing work you want to do with it. The best way to get paid for driving is to use the correct vehicle.
And without further ado, below are my favorite ways to drive cars for money!
Haul Cargo
If you’re tired of the usual ride-sharing gigs, here’s something a bit different. Dolly is an app that links vehicle owners with clients. But instead of driving people around, you will haul cargo. This includes shipping boxes, furniture, office supplies, appliances, computers, and even plants and produce. As you would expect, you need the right type of car to earn through Dolly – your Honda Fit might not be a good match for this.
You will also need to be physically strong enough to do this work. That includes being able to lift a set amount of lbs. since that is what your clients will expect of you. You will also have to consider the wear and maintenance that this sort of gig will require. But this is an awesome way to get paid to drive your car!
Drive People Around
Driving people around town is one of the most common types or ride-sharing gigs around. I personally prefer other types of gigs, but I’ll include this here since I still think it’s a legit way to get paid to drive.
Uber is usually the first name that comes to people’s minds whenever someone mentions driving passengers. And Uber is legit, but you might want to consider the alternative: Lyft. Getting paid to drive cars through Lyft brings a few advantages over Uber. For starters, Lyft lets you get tips. And surge rates on Lyft tend to be better than on Uber – but not so high that they turn off potential passengers. Lyft is awesome!
Rent Your Driveway Or Garage
If you get paid to drive cars, there’s a big chance you’re garage is always empty – after all, you’re always out driving your car for the money, right? If that’s the case, you might as well rent out your garage or driveway while you’re out driving and earning. If you do this, your earnings are effectively doubled!
People will rent your driveway and garage for parking space. It’s no secret that parking has gotten super expensive near malls and offices (if you could even find a vacant space, to begin with!). If you live near enough to those areas, you can turn your garage or driveway into prime parking spaces. If you want to give this a shot, try CurbFlip and Spacer to find clients.
Turn Your Car Into A Rolling Advertisement
Here’s an interesting way to earn while driving. Companies are willing to pay you to have a vinyl wrap advertisement installed in your car. Basically, with this vinyl wrap on your car, your vehicle becomes a rolling ad.
But do note that when you do this, you will be required to drive a set amount of miles – maybe even the same route – each day. The advertising company will install a GPS tracker on your car to confirm your daily route. So if your daily route varies – either out of personal preference or because you do ride-sharing – this might not be the appropriate earning method for you. If you’re interested in giving this a shot, look at Wrapify and Carvertise.
Make Deliveries
If having strangers ride your car doesn’t sound appealing to you, that’s okay. Here’s an alternative to that: make deliveries on Amazon Flex. Amazon Flex is a program under Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime promises super-fast delivery times to shoppers, and to accomplish that, they hire drivers through Amazon Flex. Through the Amazon Flex app, you will receive notifications for available jobs. When you accept a booking, you head to your nearest Amazon warehouse fulfillment center, pick up the package, and deliver it to the buyer.
Use The Appropriate Vehicle
I have a friend who drives a sweet old school Ford Mustang fastback. It’s an awesome car and lovingly restored. The thing is super reliable (and even manages to get decent fuel mileage on the thing). As you would imagine, my buddy loves to drive his Mustang whenever he gets the chance. But as awesome as that Mustang is, it is not the right car to drive for cash.
The earning methods I’ll be listing below require the appropriate car. And by “appropriate” I mean something that can take the wear and tear of daily driving. If you’re not comfortable putting on the miles, chances are that’s not the correct vehicle to drive for money.
The appropriate vehicle will change depending on the side hustle you’re doing. For example, if you haul cargo on Dolly – which I’ll be covering in a bit – you’ll need a rugged truck. To deliver food, a smaller car (or even a motorcycle or scooter) might work. So the requirements differ. But generally, you’ll want something that is reliable on the day-to-day, gives you good fuel economy, and doesn’t cost too much to maintain (my friend’s Mustang costs a small fortune to keep up and running!).
If you need some ideas and information trying to decide which is the right vehicle for the type of side hustle you want to do, check out this article on Consumer Reports. It says:
“Drivers for ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft can put as much as 1,000 miles a week on their cars, says Harry Campbell, a ride-share consultant at therideshareguy.com. For that kind of heavy-duty driving, the things many people want in a car—reliability, fuel efficiency, and safety—become critical.”
It covers cars that are ideal for Uber or Lyft drivers, but I think some of the vehicles here have wider use. For example, Kia Soul would also be great for doing deliveries and carrying groceries. Heck, the Honda Odyssey (which the article recommends for Uber XL or Lyft Plus) might even work for hauling smaller cargo through Lorry. So before you drop cash on a down payment for a new vehicle, make sure you know what type of ride-sharing work you want to do with it. The best way to get paid for driving is to use the correct vehicle.
And without further ado, below are my favorite ways to drive cars for money!
Haul Cargo
If you’re tired of the usual ride-sharing gigs, here’s something a bit different. Dolly is an app that links vehicle owners with clients. But instead of driving people around, you will haul cargo. This includes shipping boxes, furniture, office supplies, appliances, computers, and even plants and produce. As you would expect, you need the right type of car to earn through Dolly – your Honda Fit might not be a good match for this.
You will also need to be physically strong enough to do this work. That includes being able to lift a set amount of lbs. since that is what your clients will expect of you. You will also have to consider the wear and maintenance that this sort of gig will require. But this is an awesome way to get paid to drive your car!
Drive People Around
Driving people around town is one of the most common types or ride-sharing gigs around. I personally prefer other types of gigs, but I’ll include this here since I still think it’s a legit way to get paid to drive.
Uber is usually the first name that comes to people’s minds whenever someone mentions driving passengers. And Uber is legit, but you might want to consider the alternative: Lyft. Getting paid to drive cars through Lyft brings a few advantages over Uber. For starters, Lyft lets you get tips. And surge rates on Lyft tend to be better than on Uber – but not so high that they turn off potential passengers. Lyft is awesome!
Rent Your Driveway Or Garage
If you get paid to drive cars, there’s a big chance you’re garage is always empty – after all, you’re always out driving your car for the money, right? If that’s the case, you might as well rent out your garage or driveway while you’re out driving and earning. If you do this, your earnings are effectively doubled!
People will rent your driveway and garage for parking space. It’s no secret that parking has gotten super expensive near malls and offices (if you could even find a vacant space, to begin with!). If you live near enough to those areas, you can turn your garage or driveway into prime parking spaces. If you want to give this a shot, try CurbFlip and Spacer to find clients.
Turn Your Car Into A Rolling Advertisement
Here’s an interesting way to earn while driving. Companies are willing to pay you to have a vinyl wrap advertisement installed in your car. Basically, with this vinyl wrap on your car, your vehicle becomes a rolling ad.
But do note that when you do this, you will be required to drive a set amount of miles – maybe even the same route – each day. The advertising company will install a GPS tracker on your car to confirm your daily route. So if your daily route varies – either out of personal preference or because you do ride-sharing – this might not be the appropriate earning method for you. If you’re interested in giving this a shot, look at Wrapify and Carvertise.
Make Deliveries
If having strangers ride your car doesn’t sound appealing to you, that’s okay. Here’s an alternative to that: make deliveries on Amazon Flex. Amazon Flex is a program under Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime promises super-fast delivery times to shoppers, and to accomplish that, they hire drivers through Amazon Flex. Through the Amazon Flex app, you will receive notifications for available jobs. When you accept a booking, you head to your nearest Amazon warehouse fulfillment center, pick up the package, and deliver it to the buyer.
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