Julia Anderson
1. Meal Delivery Driver
In the past, the only real way to make money with your car and food was by delivering pizza. Nowadays, that has expanded to include all types of meals from various restaurants, including fast-food joints.
Here’s what working as a meal delivery driver entails:
- A customer orders food from a local restaurant.
- You go to the restaurant and pick up the food once it’s ready.
- You deliver the food to the customer.
- You get paid a commission for the order, plus tips.
The most popular meal delivery services are Uber Eats and DoorDash. You can get the most consistent work through them due to their popularity, but here are other options:
- Caviar
- Bitesquad
- Postmates
To become a meal delivery driver, you’ll need reliable transportation and a driver’s license and insurance. You will probably need to pass a background check as well to do this side gig that can earn around $15 per hour.
Grocery Delivery Driver
This car-related side gig is a bit more involved than being a meal delivery driver. Instead of just picking up pre-made food and dropping it off to the customer, you’ll need to go grocery shopping for them.
Grocery delivery drivers have exploded in number since the coronavirus pandemic hit the scene. And you’ve probably seen them in person with a company shirt on vigorously checking orders as they move about the store.
Can this be a tiring side hustle? Yes. But it could pay the bills, for the time being, so keep that in mind.
As for who to work for, Instacart and Shipt are big players in this space. DoorDash also does grocery delivery in some locations. Earnings are around $15 per hour, depending on demand and how many deliveries you perform.
Package Delivery Driver
If you’re not big on dealing with food, you could deliver packages instead. It comes as no surprise that Amazon is one of the biggest hirers when it comes to package deliveries.
Work for Amazon Flex, and you could be looking at $15 to $19 per hour in income as a package delivery driver. You get some nice flexibility with your schedule, as you can sign up for blocks of time where you’ll be making deliveries.
Beyond Amazon Flex, give TaskRabbit and Postmates a look. They may not offer as high of an hourly income, but they may provide some nice cash on the side to pad your earnings.
Rideshare Driver
If you don’t mind having strangers in your car and would like some interaction, being a rideshare driver for Uber or Lyft may be your perfect side gig solution.
You’ll get paid per ride, with occasional tips thrown in as well. This can amount to around $15 per hour in earnings, which isn’t bad for driving around town.
To work for Uber or Lyft, you’ll need to meet basic requirements like being 21 or older and having a driver’s license, insurance, and registration. Your car will need to fit 4-5 people. Background checks will be involved too.
