RIDEGURU
I'd like to get started in rideshare. Sadly I only have an old farm truck with a rebuilt title for a trade on an appropriate rideshare car. I live in a rural area, that is 5 miles from the nearest suburb of Raleigh, NC. I'm a covid-retired RN, and would like to help my former patients get to their doctor's appointments, grocery stores, and pharmacies. I have a $25k annual retirement income. How can I find a decent car I can afford? Everything seems to be 25% to 35% more expensive than just two years ago. I know I can take the mileage off my taxes, and the household income is higher than just my retirement. I got a quotation from Progressive, my current carrier doesn't offer rideshare insurance. For an older 2009 Toyota Prius my rate is $1354.52 annually, or about $113 per month. I'm a good driver with a good credit score. Is that usual and customary? So, here are my questions. 1) Where can I find a decent rideshare car that won't break the bank and eat me up in maintenance and fuel costs? 2) Where can I find inexpensive rideshare insurance that supplements my current insurance? 3) How can I keep my costs down so I don't lose money being of service to the local people who need help with transportation? I hope I haven't taken advantage of your courtesy in providing your expertise. Best regards, John "Big Daddy" Cook.
Recently retired - getting started in the crazy world of 2022.
Posted 2 years, 9 months ago
Posted By
Big_Daddy
4
Driver
Ride Apprentice
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Comments
Hello Big Daddy, I hate to have to tell you that working in small towns or rural areas on Uber or Lyft is just not a good way to make money. I work in a small town and the main reason that we do not make reasonable money is because when we get pinged in our town to go anywhere but locally we have to deadhead back home and between the costs of gas and time lost - it just doesn’t work! Didn’t mean to depress you BD but I did want to keep your aspirations realistic! Best of Luck and I hope it works out for you!
First, thank you for taking the time to reply. If it would work at all, it sounds like I'd probably barely break-even. I DID buy a used 2011 Prius, but it has 161k miles. I can use it for my personal needs, but I'm not sure it would stand up to rideshare. I talked to our tax people. If I have to pay 15.3% self-employment tax, 22% federal income tax, and 5% state income tax, out of every dollar I make, I'd keep less about 58 cents. Of course we can write off $.57 per mile, but at $3+ a gallon, even a Prius begins to hurt. If you add in maintenance, and $113 a month for insurance, it begins to sound like a losing proposition. I wish I had an app or database that would help me make good decisions about whether to drive or not. Driving for a tax deduction sort of feels like working for nothing but liability. Am I seeing this wrong?
tough time to be buying a vehicle now for sure. I feel for ya. but if you persist you will find something. as for the insurance that quote doesn't sound out of line but I don't know your area at all.
best of luck... you sound like a good person and I am sure you'll figure it out.
Hello Cheesehead! I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you're a Packer's fan. Good for you! I got the 2011 Prius with 161k miles for about $7k, and took the old farm truck off of our insurance at the same time. If I can catch a commuter into Raleigh in the morning, hit some airport traffic and lunch traffic, and ride people home in the evening, I guess I might make something. I don't mind dropping people off at bars, but don't much want to watch/smell/hear them puke on the way home. Do any drivers hand out business cards so their riders can get them close to their house before they request a ride? Is there a service that let's people request drivers?
Hi Big Daddy. Getting personal requests is quite the double edged sword. If the trips are long enough and the riders pay enough - they may be worthwhile. What usually happens though is this, you have to sign off Uber/Lyft sufficiently early to get to their pick-up on time. That means if the app takes you a half hour away from your personal pickup, you have to leave that area without accepting any more pings and get over to your pickup without making any money because you do not know where that next ping is going. So what I have found is that if people do call you for personal pickups, it is such a pain in the booty to sign off of your apps and get there and still make it worthwhile that it just isn’t worth it. Does this make sense? If not, I tried, Sorry. Good Luck!
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