# What would you do? Rideshare vs Delivery.



## ThanksUber (Jul 26, 2017)

I'm trying to guess at what makes the most productive use of my time and cost the least amount of money to do it. I did a comparison of delivery to rideshare but I'm not sure what is what so I thought I would ask your opinions if delivery is worth it compared to rideshare and how you would rank them.

Rideshare. UBER vs Lyft vs Combined

Time: 6 hour doing just Uber
Trips: 9
Payout: $67.09
Miles: 62.1+12.5 deadheading = 74.6
Fuel cost: $15.50
Net: $51.59

Time: 6 hours doing just Lyft
Trips: 12
Payout: $128.64
Miles: 98.8
Fuel cost: $22.75
Net: $105.89

Time: 6 hour combined rideshare
Trips: 19
Payout: $216.55
Miles: 142.6 + 22.0 Deadheading = 164.6
Fuel cost: $26.50
Net: $190.05

Delivery DoorDash vs UberEats vs Combined

Time: 6 hour doing just DoorDash
Trips 23
Payout: $148.12
Miles: 112.1
Fuel cost: $22.00
Net: $126.12

Time 6 hours doing just UberEats
Trips: 10
Payout: $72.56
Miles: 98.8 + 8.5 deadheading = 107.3
Fuel cost: $20.25
Net: $52.51

Time 6 hour combined delivery
Trips: 17
Payout: $121.46
Miles 125.5 + 10.0 Deadheading = 135.5
Fuel cost $24.00
Net: $97.46

The payouts include all tips except one. A guy handed me a hand full of change doing a lyft rideshare but I didn't count it.

The reason I'm asking for opinions is that it look like combined rideshare pays better but it also it takes more miles with the exception of DoorDash beating both Uber or Lyft only rideshare. It also takes about 30 minutes to clean the vehicle and a quick run to the car wash. I didn't include this with the times. There is also no cost on the car wash it is paid for off my gas points.

Also to be fair about it I had 1 pickup for UberEats that took over 20 minutes because they were not ready and 1 UberEats customer take 15 minutes to find out what his pin number was to get his food. (Uber when you read this just a FYI you need other ways to verify customers or answer your support number and 15+ minutes on hold waiting for Uber to contact the customer and verify the customer got his order is excessive.)

With DoorDash paying over $20 net per hour and combined rideshare over $30 net per hour is it even worth it to do delivery? Walmart is also paying $17.50 in my area and $19.50 for weekends. That almost matches DoorDash it you don't count taxes.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Fried rice doesn't ask for ox cable.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

If you drove 6 hours ONCE in each category, you don't have enough data to draw conclusions. It would take as a minimum, several months of data to really draw conclusions.


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## MontcoUberDriver (Aug 14, 2018)

Every market is different. That said having done both for about 4 years now my preference is delivery. My per mile and per hour earnings have been much better with delivery. I drive far fewer dead miles delivering and the food smells better than many of the pax I’ve had in my car.


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## ThanksUber (Jul 26, 2017)

Ted Fink said:


> If you drove 6 hours ONCE in each category, you don't have enough data to draw conclusions. It would take as a minimum, several months of data to really draw conclusions.


I do have years of data. The problem is that everything is changing. When I started 5 years ago both UberEats and DoorDash were good. Postmates had bonus after bonus after bonus. GrubHub and Amazon were good also. Then UberEats lost to DoorDash when DoorDash started their subscription service. It was great then 5 DoorDash Trips to 1 UberEats trip and pay climbed from $8-$12 to $30-$40 per hour. I started rideshare at that time. Rideshare between Uber and Lyft was about the same at about $20-$30 per hour. Then Uber cut the driver's pay with both delivery and rideshare. Postmates pay went into the toilet without the bonuses. All the UberEats drivers switched to DoorDash so that also became difficult to earn any money. Pay for doing UberEats dropped to $5-$10 per hour. There were never any bonuses with Postmates. DoorDash pay dropped to $10-$15 per hour. The only good thing was that so many drivers quit driving rideshare you could still make $20-30 per hour doing more rideshare trips. Then Uber cut the driver's pay again. More drivers quit and customers were pissed because they were constantly paying surges because lack of drivers and the long wait times. Drivers were pissed because the pay cut dropped rideshare driver pay to under $10 per hour. Then Uber cut the driver's pay again and Lyft following a few weeks later with their own pay cut. DoorDash was now the clear winner for food delivery. UberEats Postmates and GrubHub were almost non existence with 7 DoorDash Trips to 1 of those. Amazon was done for. Postmates still had package delivery so that's what save them. UberEats had McDonald's so crappy food to crappy customers saved them. GrubHub still had good restaurants. The problem was the lack of pay for the drivers. No drivers ... no food delivery. Uber did quests so drivers could make some money but they also cut the driver's pay 3 more times, and every time Uber did a quest for UberEats it took drivers away from rideshare so the drivers doing rideshare would make more money because of the lack of drivers. DoorDash was and still is the leader in food delivery. Another year went by and 2 more pay cuts with Uber and then the pandemic. No customers no trips and no pay for the drivers. About 6 months of pain, but there were times when you get lucky and could make some money if the customer tipped. Uber must have been making billion watching the surge maps. I started taking just short local trips so they dropped to about 3 or 4 trips every day. No airport no downtown and no long trips. After about 6 months of making $25 to $30 every day. I set a goal of $50 each day gross and then $50 each day net after fuel expenses and then increased that to $75 and now work 6 hours total or 2 hours for lunch and 4 hours dinner. Lately however I have been working just 6 hours each day from 3:00pm to 9:00pm and rideshare pays much better during those hours.

The bad thing about delivery is that Uber underestimate the time to do a delivery. Honestly Uber how can you drive 3.2 miles in 1 minute? Yesterday I picked up a UberEats order at 12:45 that the restaurant prepared at 10:38. The payout was ok but if I was the customer I would be mad. DoorDash is fine but you really don't know what your going to earn on a trip because most customers tip in cash.

The bad thing about rideshare is that sometime you get some crazy person wanting to move a couch across town or another crazy person with 30 bags of groceries and needs help carrying all of it to her apartment. The last pax that irritated me was the person that gave me directions to where they were going when I have their destination and route right on the screen of my phone.

That is why I'm not really sure what is better. Is more money better?


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

ThanksUber said:


> The problem is that everything is changing.


That sums it up. Same for me. I think the best strategy is to multi-app and watch trends. If one app or the other seems to be throwing better trips any given day/week/month, favor that app.

The rideshare vs. food delivery debate, for me, isn't as much about the earnings as it is about what I want to do. I prefer to give rides. I do food delivery (reluctantly) when rides are slow.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

ThanksUber said:


> The problem is that everything is changing





Ted Fink said:


> That sums it up.


Exactly! The answer you get today will be different tomorrow.


Ted Fink said:


> best strategy is to multi-app and watch trends.


Exactly.

I did UberXL and Lyft until the Surge multiplier went away in 2019 and the flat surge doesn't work for me. Deleted Pax.
Switched exclusively to UE/DD/GH and UE was the Boss, it was great for awhile. Then they went public and it turned into complete shit in my market. UE app deleted from my phone it's so bad.
DD/GH/PM next. I hate PM but when the pandemic hit in 2020, PM was fantastic for a short window. Now it's back to garbage.
DD used to be great, $12-24 EVERY delivery. DD was the Boss GH took a backseat.
DD went public, hid the final payout, and started with the shitty offers. Now GH is the Boss.
It's always changing, best to be flexible and figure out the waves and ride them.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

Seamus said:


> Exactly! The answer you get today will be different tomorrow.
> 
> Exactly.
> 
> ...


You couldn't have described it better.

Pretty much the same market conditions for me, but I decided to stay primarily with rideshare, and I fine tuned my approach to maximize bonuses and quests. That's been working fine for me. I just don't like to do delivery if i can help it because i'm a lazy MF


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## SlikkRikk (Sep 25, 2016)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> Fried rice doesn't ask for ox cable.


It also can't net you $30/hr 😂


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

SlikkRikk said:


> It also can't net you $30/hr 😂


$30 worth of poop, is still poop. 💩


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## MontcoUberDriver (Aug 14, 2018)

Seamus said:


> Exactly.
> 
> I did UberXL and Lyft until the Surge multiplier went away in 2019 and the flat surge doesn't work for me. Deleted Pax.
> Switched exclusively to UE/DD/GH and UE was the Boss, it was great for awhile. Then they went public and it turned into complete shit in my market. UE app deleted from my phone it's so bad.
> ...


This!

This is why I multi app. Got to dig through a lot of shit to find the money.


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## SlikkRikk (Sep 25, 2016)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> $30 worth of poop, is still poop. 💩


You can cash in $30 worth of poop for $30, but you can't cash in $15 worth of poop for $30.

Quit acting like this stuff is hard. Pax are easier and make more money. Simple.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

SlikkRikk said:


> You can cash in $30 worth of poop for $30, but you can't cash in $15 worth of poop for $30.
> 
> Quit acting like this stuff is hard. Pax are easier and make more money. Simple.


After 3 or 4 mental cases in my car, I beg to differ.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

All yall who want to stop running PAX go right ahead... more surge, quests, and bonuses for me


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## SlikkRikk (Sep 25, 2016)

SlikkRikk said:


> .





Uberdriver2710 said:


> After 3 or 4 mental cases in my car, I beg to differ.


You kinda have to learn to deal with people if you're gonna be in this business.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

SlikkRikk said:


> You kinda have to learn to deal with people if you're gonna be in this business.


They weren't people. They were monsters.

I don't deal with monsters.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> After 3 or 4 mental cases in my car, I beg to differ.


As if most of these drivers aren't mental cases?


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Ted Fink said:


> As if most of these drivers aren't mental cases?


No, there's a good chance of 'bad apple' drivers. But, drivers are screened, pax are not.

Example:


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## REX HAVOC (Jul 4, 2016)

ThanksUber said:


> I do have years of data. The problem is that everything is changing. When I started 5 years ago both UberEats and DoorDash were good. Postmates had bonus after bonus after bonus. GrubHub and Amazon were good also. Then UberEats lost to DoorDash when DoorDash started their subscription service. It was great then 5 DoorDash Trips to 1 UberEats trip and pay climbed from $8-$12 to $30-$40 per hour. I started rideshare at that time. Rideshare between Uber and Lyft was about the same at about $20-$30 per hour. Then Uber cut the driver's pay with both delivery and rideshare. Postmates pay went into the toilet without the bonuses. All the UberEats drivers switched to DoorDash so that also became difficult to earn any money. Pay for doing UberEats dropped to $5-$10 per hour. There were never any bonuses with Postmates. DoorDash pay dropped to $10-$15 per hour. The only good thing was that so many drivers quit driving rideshare you could still make $20-30 per hour doing more rideshare trips. Then Uber cut the driver's pay again. More drivers quit and customers were pissed because they were constantly paying surges because lack of drivers and the long wait times. Drivers were pissed because the pay cut dropped rideshare driver pay to under $10 per hour. Then Uber cut the driver's pay again and Lyft following a few weeks later with their own pay cut. DoorDash was now the clear winner for food delivery. UberEats Postmates and GrubHub were almost non existence with 7 DoorDash Trips to 1 of those. Amazon was done for. Postmates still had package delivery so that's what save them. UberEats had McDonald's so crappy food to crappy customers saved them. GrubHub still had good restaurants. The problem was the lack of pay for the drivers. No drivers ... no food delivery. Uber did quests so drivers could make some money but they also cut the driver's pay 3 more times, and every time Uber did a quest for UberEats it took drivers away from rideshare so the drivers doing rideshare would make more money because of the lack of drivers. DoorDash was and still is the leader in food delivery. Another year went by and 2 more pay cuts with Uber and then the pandemic. No customers no trips and no pay for the drivers. About 6 months of pain, but there were times when you get lucky and could make some money if the customer tipped. Uber must have been making billion watching the surge maps. I started taking just short local trips so they dropped to about 3 or 4 trips every day. No airport no downtown and no long trips. After about 6 months of making $25 to $30 every day. I set a goal of $50 each day gross and then $50 each day net after fuel expenses and then increased that to $75 and now work 6 hours total or 2 hours for lunch and 4 hours dinner. Lately however I have been working just 6 hours each day from 3:00pm to 9:00pm and rideshare pays much better during those hours.
> 
> The bad thing about delivery is that Uber underestimate the time to do a delivery. Honestly Uber how can you drive 3.2 miles in 1 minute? Yesterday I picked up a UberEats order at 12:45 that the restaurant prepared at 10:38. The payout was ok but if I was the customer I would be mad. DoorDash is fine but you really don't know what your going to earn on a trip because most customers tip in cash.
> 
> ...





ThanksUber said:


> I'm trying to guess at what makes the most productive use of my time and cost the least amount of money to do it. I did a comparison of delivery to rideshare but I'm not sure what is what so I thought I would ask your opinions if delivery is worth it compared to rideshare and how you would rank them.
> 
> Rideshare. UBER vs Lyft vs Combined
> 
> ...


I'm thinking about driving rideshare again instead of DD. The delivery rates and bonus have been garbage lately and it's hard to make more than $20 an hour before gas.


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## smithers54 (Jan 7, 2019)

To get your average are you using total time or active time?


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

I began doing Amazon Flex Prime deliveries about 4 weeks ago. The pay is great when delivering, averaging $35 per hour, which includes tips. 

But the time you spend going to the warehouse for pickup, waiting for your load to be ready, then sorting your packages by address, then driving to the route starting point, and driving home after the route, consumes about 2.5 hours, and is non-compensated. (I live in Arlington Heights and the warehouse is in Wooddale off of I-390)

Because it's cold and the days are short, I only do one delivery route per day and ensure that I'm done before dark. (Hard as hell to see addresses in the dark, in densely populated areas of Chicagoland) With Amazon Flex, you see windows of time where a route is available and choose one of the windows....usually a 2.5 hour window.

Sometimes I still drive LYFT before or after an Amazon route, if I feel like it. 

I like Amazon better than Lyft due to the predictability and lack of interactions with people who seem to be increasingly "off" since the Covid Pandemic started. I only wish there was not so much non-compensable time involved with Amazon. (Truck drivers have a lot of that too, but they make 6-figure incomes these days. If I were younger....)

Am about to look into ROADIE delivery of "things" to individuals and businesses. It sounds interesting.

-Allen in Chicagoland


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## ThanksUber (Jul 26, 2017)

smithers54 said:


> To get your average are you using total time or active time?


I'm not sure what the difference is? I don't log off so I think the total and active are the same. If your asking if I'm busy the entire 6 hours the answer is no. I get busy doing DoorDash orders but everything else has time between trips while I'm still logged on. Anyway this it what I did for these comparisons.

I logged on to each app at exactly 3:00pm and counted all completed trips before 9:00pm. The only exceptions were that I stopped for gas doing combined rideshare. About 10 minutes I did not log off and I didn't get a rideshare ping while fuelling my car. The other exception was that I stopped to go to the bathroom doing just DoorDash. I did get a ping while using the bathroom. I finish doing what I had to do. Maybe a 5 minute delay picking up that next order.. All testing was done on the last few weeks on Thursday nights with the exception of Thanksgiving week I didn't work that entire week.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

ThanksUber said:


> I'm trying to guess at what makes the most productive use of my time and cost the least amount of money to do it. I did a comparison of delivery to rideshare but I'm not sure what is what so I thought I would ask your opinions if delivery is worth it compared to rideshare and how you would rank them.
> 
> Rideshare. UBER vs Lyft vs Combined
> 
> ...


If you want earnings per hour go get an hourly job. Fuel costs are only a small portion of the total costs per mile driven. Don't look at fuel costs, learn what your car costs you per mile to drive. So I'll take those factor out of your numbers.

Payout: $67.09
Miles: 74.6
$0.899 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Payout: $128.64
Miles: 98.8
$1.302 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Payout: $216.55
Miles: 164.6
$1.316 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Payout: $148.12
Miles: 112.1
$1.321 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Payout: $72.56
Miles: 107.3
$0.676 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Payout: $121.46
Miles: 135.5
$0.896 per mile driven before cost of mile driven.

Not knowing what vehicle you drive and what all your costs are I'll guess that your vehicle cost you around $0.30 per mile to drive, if it is an older car that number will be less. If a nicer newer car that number will be higher. 

All your scenarios netted a profit. Obviously the three that yielded $1.30+ per mile driven are better and if sustainable would be the way to go.


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## ThanksUber (Jul 26, 2017)

Confirmed Rideshare wins.

2 trips back to back from Minneapolis Airport $50 dollar cash tip on 1st one and 2nd trip $80 cash tip and another $20 tip in app. All in under 25 minutes. Thanks tipping gods!!!!


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