Driving for Uber and Lyft: How to get started and how much I make

Side hustles: Driving for Uber and Lyft. The days of working 8-5 Monday-Friday and not doing anything on the side are pretty much over. In fact, nearly 50% of people have some sort of side hustle. It can be argued that the reason that side hustles are such a big deal now is because of the rising cost of living, wage stagnation, the rising cost of education, jobs being shipped overseas, the political landscape, or any one of a multitude of reasons.

I’m not here to debate the reason(s) for the increase in side hustles in the US in this article. What I am here to tell you is about my experience driving for Uber and Lyft as a side hustle that way you can decide if it might be a good idea for you. 

I started driving for Uber while finishing business school at the University of Wyoming (GO POKES!) in Laramie, Wyoming. My wife and I were flat-out broke. She was in veterinary school at Colorado State University (BOOO!) in Fort Collins, Colorado. So needless to say, we did not have very much money and were living off of some savings, part-time jobs, and of course student loans. 

I had been delivering pizza for Domino’s in Laramie but business school was extremely demanding and I had a hard time committing to regular shifts. A lot of the time that I had to work was in small blocks of maybe a few hours in between classes, studying, projects, and internships.

A cousin of my wife’s drove for Uber in Kansas City and he suggested it to me while at Thanksgiving. He told me that he liked it and he showed me how much he was making and it wasn’t bad at all! The part that he seemed to like about it the most was that he could work when he wanted. With a wife and three small children, that was valuable to him. It also appealed to me. So I applied to drive for Uber in Wyoming, was accepted, and started driving. 

This is (1) what it took to get started, (2) how it went for me, and (3) how much I made.

If you are going to start driving for Lyft, please do me a solid and use this invitation code: DOUG32341

If you are going to start driving for Uber, please do me a solid and use this invitation code: DOUGH8566UE

What it Takes to Get Started

I have had to go through the process of being hired as a driver for Uber and Lyft once. Then later, I moved from Wyoming to Colorado and had to go through the process again. Driving for Uber and/Lyft is state specific. Meaning, you register to drive for each company in your own state. When I first started driving for Uber, I was living in Wyoming (and thus became a Wyoming Uber driver). I later moved to Fort Collins, Colorado where I applied to be a Lyft driver first and then later applied to drive for Uber in Colorado as well. 

The process is pretty simple, but it takes some time. So don’t apply to drive for Uber or Lyft on a Tuesday and expect to be driving by the weekend. In my experience, you should allow for about a month from the time that you apply until the time that you are approved. Here are the necessary steps that you will have to go through (some steps may vary slightly based on your state):

1. Background Check: You will undergo a background check to be a driver in any state that you apply in (to my knowledge). You most likely won’t have to pay for this. Either Uber or Lyft will pay for it.
2. Physical: I did not have to do a physical when I drove in Wyoming but I did when I applied in Colorado. Under Colorado law, Uber and Lyft fall under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and therefore, an Uber or Lyft driver has to go through a DOT physical. The physical wasn’t bad at all. It was checking for eyesight, blood pressure, balance, reflexes, etc. There was no “turn your head and cough” portion of the physical. I had to pay for this portion which was $50 and good for two years for both Uber and Lyft. There was no drug test portion involved in either Wyoming or Colorado.
3. Vehicle Inspection: This is what fails most people. Every state is a little different but in both Wyoming and Colorado, (for both Uber and Lyft) the vehicle that you can drive has to be 10 years old or NEWER, have four doors, have a minimum of 5 working seatbelts, not have any excessive damage, have a clean title (no salvage titles allowed), good tires, and be in generally good working condition with no big dents, rust, etc. I just went to my local Jiffy Lube and had an inspection done that took about 20 minutes and cost $25.
4. Vehicle Licensing: The vehicle has to be registered AND licensed in the state that you are registering to drive in. When I lived in Wyoming, I had a Wyoming registered and licensed vehicle. So when I moved from Wyoming to Colorado, I had to do another background check, get a physical, have the vehicle inspected, and get the registration and license plates moved to a Colorado registration and Colorado plates. To my knowledge, this is the same in each state with both Uber and Lyft. 
5. Driver’s License: You will obviously have to have a driver’s license. You don’t have to have a commercial license (but check your respective state requirements to make sure). No DWIs, DUIs, etc. in a certain time frame. I’m not sure what it is in other states, but in Colorado, it was 7 years.
6. Vehicle Insurance: This one is a BIG deal. First of all, in order to drive for Uber or Lyft at all, you must have at least the minimum state required insurance. However, you should ALWAYS have commercial insurance on your vehicle if you are using it for a commercial purpose (rideshare, delivering packages, DoorDash, etc.). If you get into an accident and it is your fault while using your vehicle in a commercial capacity without commercial insurance, your insurance company will not pay. That is because you were not using the vehicle as intended as per your insurance contract. I know it is an extra expense and it kind of sucks, but just do it. Get. Commercial. Insurance. 

Common Questions that I am Asked

I’ve been driving for Uber and Lyft for about four years now. Admittedly, I don’t drive for them very much anymore because my life is more devoted to helping you all become more fiscally fit!

How long have you driven for Uber and/or Lyft?

I have driven for them both full and part time dependent on my life situation at the time. One of the nice things about driving for Uber and Lyft is that you can make your schedule. When I was in grad school, I drove 15-30 hours per week. After I graduated business school, I started working in the banking industry and kept driving for about 30 hours per week to help supplement my income. After I left my banking job, I drove for Uber and Lyft full time for a few months. I would usually average 40-50 hours per week.

When/how do you get paid?

With both Uber and Lyft, you get paid weekly which is nice. However, you also have the option to get paid out multiple times a day if you wish. To do this, there is usually a small fee that you incur ($0.50) per transaction. If you wait and get paid weekly, there is no fee. All payments are done via direct deposit to your bank account or onto an Uber or Lyft debit card (much like a prepaid VISA card). 

Is it better to drive for Uber or Lyft?

In my experience there is not much of a difference most of the time. It has seemed to me that when Lyft is really busy, Uber is not, and vice versa. Likewise, when the demand for one company is high the price of that company goes up. The more it goes up, the more people will use the other company because it is cheaper. My suggestion for would be drivers is to sign up and drive for both Uber and Lyft. That way if one company is slow, you can drive for the other company. Also, I have had a couple times where my documents took a while longer to process (my new Colorado drivers license) and I was unable to drive for Lyft. I’m glad that I was already approved to drive for Uber because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to drive for either company until my license was approved.

Crazy Stories While Driving for Uber and Lyft

Before I tell you any crazy stories, just know that I have done over 5,000 lifetime rides with Uber and Lyft combined. And nearly all of my riders have been good, polite, and clean people. They are just looking for a ride to work because their car is in the shop, they don’t own a car, are visiting town, or (most often) had a little too much to drink. It has been extremely rare for me to have a bad rider. And think about it, if the rider is a jerk, you only have them in the car for a few minutes. After that you never have to see them again. With that prefaced, here are a couple crazy things that have happened:

I have had two people vomit in the car. Each time they got most of it outside and I didn’t have to clean up very much. They were each embarrassed and extremely apologetic. They were each charged a cleaning fee as well that I got to keep.

I had a couple guys get into an argument and as they got out of the car they started throwing punches. I just drove away.

The entire time that I’ve driven for Uber and/or Lyft, I’ve only had to kick one person out of my car. A lady lit up a cigarette and started smoking. I told her to put it out and she refused. Then I warned her one more time and she refused again. I pulled over to the side of the road and made her leave. She was not happy. 

I have had (not one, but) two different couples have sex in the car. I had music on and before I could figure out what was going on in the back seat it was too late. The second time it happened I completed the trip before he could complete hers. 

I once picked up a couple that sprinted out of the house. Neither had shoes on, the girl didn’t have a shirt or bra, and the guy didn’t have a shirt. As they barreled into the back seat of the car another woman came screaming out of the house yelling profanities at them. It was obvious that they were caught cheating.

If you are going to start driving for Lyft, please do me a solid and use my invitation code: DOUG32341

If you are going to start driving for Uber, please do me a solid and use my invitation code: DOUGH8566UE

How much can you make driving for Uber and/or Lyft?

First let me say that the answer to this question will depend on a number of factors. The biggest one of which is where you plan to drive. If you live in Pinedale, Wyoming you probably won’t make as much money as you would in San Francisco. I made less money when I lived in Laramie, WY (population about 30,000) than I did in Fort Collins, CO (population about 140,000). Please note that I did not live in a really large city. If you live in Chicago, LA, Dallas, NYC, etc., you can make even more money because there are a lot of riders available. I did occasionally drive in Denver but not very often. 

When I have driven part-time for Uber and/or Lyft, I drove during the evenings after I would get off work a couple of days per week and every Friday and Saturday night. (Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest.)

When driving full-time I would usually drive in the early morning starting at about 4:30 AM until about 2:00 PM or so. I have made great money at all times of the day and night. But if you want to make the most money, concentrate on Friday nights, Saturdays, and early weekday mornings. 

When driving, I average $22/hour. Some days are worse (I’ve made as little as $11/hour). And some days are better (I’ve made as much as $51/hour). The most I have ever made in a day was $508.51. I drove for just under 10 hours and received $40 in cash tips on top of my regular earnings. Here is a screenshot of it:

Keep in mind that this is the gross amount that I have made. I had to pay for gas every day that I drove, any food or drinks that I purchased while out driving, and ongoing expenses like insurance, car payments (if applicable to you), oil changes, tires, and general upkeep of the car. I also had to pay taxes on this amount. After all expenses and taxes I would usually take home about $15/hour on average. It’s not bad but not great either. 

The amount that you could expect to make can vary wildly. I will come out with an article at a later date that includes best practices for improving your Uber and Lyft income.

Driving for Uber and Lyft can be really beneficial for paying off your student loans, saving money for a vacation, catching up on retirement, or any other financial goals that you may have.

Would I recommend driving for Uber and Lyft for a career? No. There is just too much wear and tear on your vehicle, no upward career mobility, and it’s too hard on your body. Not To mention that there are no health insurance, retirement, etc. offered as a regular driver.

I have really enjoyed my time driving for Uber and Lyft. I have met several business connections, friends, and even had a couple job interviews based on my time driving. It has been a great way to bridge the gap between jobs, help pay bills while in business school, and save some money. 

I would strongly recommend that if you are thinking of doing it, don’t be scared, just do it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it anymore. It can be a great bridge to help you achieve your financial goals. And please remember:

If you are going to start driving for Lyft, please do me a solid and use my invitation code: DOUG32341

If you are going to start driving for Uber, please do me a solid and use my invitation code: DOUGH8566UE

Remember, if you want to get ahead of your finances, only YOU can do it. Don’t be embarrassed for taking a side gig and driving for Uber or Lyft. Most people have some type of side gig. I have an MBA and I have a side gig. And at the end of the day side gigs can really help you become more fiscally fit. Until next time.

If you are curious about other side-gigs check them out here.