Carpooling to Earn Money

Carpools have formally and informally existed for a long time now. Carpool drivers do it either for free or charge for it. Most carpool drivers do it to make money on the side to cover their car expenses most notably their petrol costs. Most carpool passengers do not have access to their own transport or are having difficulty taking public transport.

Carpooling is now an App Away

Carpooling has become hitech. Carpooling apps such as Waze match drivers with passengers using computer algorithms to create carpool trips which are the most convenient and cheapest. One thing to note though is that Waze only allows for 2 carpool trips a day staying true to the concept of a carpool.

These companies do not make money primarily by getting a commission from the carpool driver but also through the subsidies of the organisations sponsoring the carpool. For example there are information technology workers being subsidised by their companies to carpool so they can do more work using their laptops while carpooling.

As far as the company Waze is concerned this is not a money making scheme as passengers are only charged a maximum of 58 cents per mile and drivers may only get as much as $19 for their effort. This just barely covers the carpool driver’s car expenses such as parking and petrol. One has to consider the increase in petrol usage and wear and tear on the car due to extra passengers also.

Disadvantages of Carpooling

If one is not really earning money from app based carpooling like the Waze system where the amount the drivers earn is so small that it is not even taxable by the government then what benefit especially financial do these drivers get? First let us look at the disadvantages of carpooling.

Unlike a solo driver with one origin and destination a carpool driver must spend more time travelling because they have to stop at certain points in their route to pick up passengers. It is good if the pickup operation goes hassle free and without obstacles such as finding a place to stop where one does not block traffic or picking up passengers when it is raining.

A carpool driver also has to spend more time travelling because their route will not be a straightforward one. There will be the eventual detours as it is very hard to find carpool passengers who live exactly on the route one is taking. This can be partly solved by requiring the passengers to walk nearer the route although this is hard to implement smoothly.

The more detours one makes to pickup passengers the greater the number of possible obstacles which could mean more delays. This in turn will increase your pickup times and lengthen your overall travel time. If you are picking up passengers with different and very strict arrival schedules in their destination such as work this could be chaotic for them and you.

One advantage of a solo driver is the temporary freedom it gives us from the outside world. As a solo driver for example you can listen to music without disturbance and just lay around your belongings on the backseat of your car. If you have strangers in your car they may be noisy or attempt to talk to you when you do not want to and you cannot just leave your belongings carelessly in the car.

If you are a commercial carpool then there is a possibility that you can make a decent living with it but you have to register your business and pay taxes. Most likely you will have regular passengers and can plan your route and stopovers more efficiently. You also get the added benefit of possibly developing a social relationship with your passengers.

Whether you use an app or do your own commercial carpooling the problem of maintaining your carpool commitments is a problem. It is hard to deviate from your carpool route to do random activities such as stopping to eat, shop, observe and other things that you might want to do from time to time. Sudden family engagements may be compromised as well.

Perhaps one of the greatest problems of a carpool driver is insurance. By law the driver of a car is responsible for his passengers even if they are strangers. In case of a car accident or other situations where passengers get hurt, killed or their property damaged inside the car of the carpool driver they or their families get compensated.

The law also states that the company who is sponsoring the carpool activities of the driver is liable for any driver related passenger injuries, deaths and damage to their properties while inside the car. This could be a major hindrance for carpool drivers in getting sponsorships from companies who would be scared because of their potential liabilities.

Car insurance is already expensive for the driver but if they have to take out insurance for 4 more people (1 at the front and 3 at the back) even though they are strangers then it may become unaffordable.

Then there is the issue of crime against you as the driver. You can be vulnerable to the passengers in your car. Most of your attention is towards the road and driving to your destination safely. Your passengers are at your side and back. They are in a position where you cannot properly see their actions. They may vandalise your car or harm you without warning.

Advantages of Carpooling

There are however benefits to being a carpool driver. You can increase your social connections through it. You may be a salesperson and you can use the captive time and attention of your passengers to do your sales pitch and hopefully get sales. There are for example real estate agents who are also carpool drivers. They have brochures and other sales materials in their car in case a passenger is interested.

You may not be selling anything but you might be looking or prospecting for another job. You might just get lucky in your chitchat with a passenger who might provide you leads or even a contact in finding your new job. You can be an aspiring reporter and might get news leads from your passengers. In short you might be able to get information from your passengers which could be beneficial to you.

You may just like to increase your social circle and meet new possible friends which could provide you with monetary and non-monetary benefits.

Conclusion

The money you earn from being a carpool driver depends on how you successfully charge your passengers and in the monetary benefits of being socially connected with your passengers. The monetary benefits of your social connections with your passengers cannot be measured. Your potential liability however for the safety of your passengers and their belongings is definitely very expensive.