You’ve seen the signs, and unfortunately, it’s true: gas prices are on the rise and expected to reach their highest levels since 2014. For rideshare and delivery drivers, managing this expense is critical to lowering your overhead and putting more money in your pocket.
Watching prices roll beyond $3 or $4 per gallon isn’t ideal, but thankfully there are several ways to limit the impact of these price spikes on your bottom line.
We’ve put together a list of 5 simple driving habits and tools that you can implement today to help you fill up for less money, less frequently:
- Maintain your vehicle
- Keep track of expenses
- Limit leisure driving
- Purchase the right vehicle
- Take advantage of Gridwise Gas
Plus, we’ve thrown in a few ways for rideshare and delivery drivers to get great discounts every time they’re at the pump.
The lowdown on escalating gas prices
Hopefully you’re already tracking your mileage and performance to get the most out of the hours you’re on the road. It’s important to understand how these costs affect your earnings. As a driver, your primary expenses are maintenance, depreciation of your vehicle, and fuel, with the latter typically hitting your account the hardest. Here’s how it breaks down:
On average, a gig driver will typically do 1,000 miles a week, and need to fill up a standard 12 gallon gas tank at least 3 times. At the beginning of 2021, gas prices were lower, averaging $2.24/gallon. Still, drivers could expect to lose at least $80 of their weekly profits to fuel costs.
Because of the high mileage in rideshare, even a small uptick in prices has a big impact on this cost. By May 2021 fuel prices had jumped to an average of $2.89 per gallon, meaning drivers needed to spend an additional $0.64/gallon or over $100 a week.
With prices expected to continue rising and limited ways to increase earnings, it’s important to save every penny possible. These 5 tips can help get you started.
Maintain your vehicle
Regularly servicing your vehicle is important for the safety of yourself and your passengers. Keeping your car running strong can also help you save at the pump. You should always schedule regular maintenance to ensure that your vehicle is running strong and efficiently.
When’s the last time you checked your tire pressure? For every 1 psi your tires are below their recommended inflation pressure, you lose 0.2% fuel efficiency in your car.
Upgrading your motor oil and making sure to regularly change your oil filter can also help you up your vehicle’s efficiency by several percentage points. So the moral of the story is, take care of your vehicle!
Keep track of expenses
Not only will carefully tracking your expenses help you determine how much you’re really earning at the end of the day, it can also help you save when tax season rolls around. With this in mind, you’ll want to deduct the mileage and cost of fuel from your tax liability.
Plus, it’s easy. Gridwise helps drivers track their expenses and create detailed tax reports to make filing a breeze. Accurately tracking and reporting your mileage and expenses can help you keep more of the money you earn. Take a look at this Gridwise blog post for an insightful tax deduction guide for rideshare and delivery drivers.
Limit leisure driving
You’re only making money when you’re delivering food, groceries, packages, etc. or when there’s a passenger in the car. Limiting the amount of time you spend driving aimlessly with no destination, can help cut down on unnecessary mileage.
Drive strategically – even when you’re not on the clock, you can still make moves to help your business. If you can, consider using alternatives for getting around like public transportation, walking or biking.
Try and plan your drive time around peak hours, and with the When to Drive feature… you easily can! However, if you’re more old school, you can make a calendar of important events in town that might cause spikes in payouts and try to be on the road for them. With the When to Drive feature you can eliminate the hassle of strategically picking high-demand times to drive, so you can be sure that you’ll be earning more than you’re burning.
Purchase the right vehicle
With all the money you’ll be saving on fuel costs, you might be tempted to go out and get a new vehicle for your business. Just make sure that whatever you’re driving is well-suited to the job.
Fuel efficiency is the number one priority behind passenger comfort when picking the best rideshare vehicle. You might also consider a hybrid vehicle that will help you save by utilizing battery power rather than gasoline.
Take advantage of Gridwise Gas
You can help even out the expense of gas by paying for it the right way. Instead of cash, consider using a rewards card that can help you earn points for every dollar you spend at the pump. Or better, become a Gridwise Gas card member and majorly save on every gallon of gas you pump.
Gridwise Gas helps drivers save up to $0.25/gallon. It takes about 15 seconds to sign up and it’s free! Simply sign up for Gridwise Gas (again free) and link your bank account. After you do that, you’ll receive a Gridwise Gas payment card in the mail. Download the Gasbuddy app, activate your card and you’re on your way to save! Another great perk of Gridwise Gas is that you’ll automatically be eligible for exclusive offers and special deals, talk about a steal!
So, next time you’re at the pump…
Remember, every small effort you make can have a big impact on your bottom line. Saving a cent here and there might not seem like much when it’s just one tank of gas, but it adds up to be a big pay out over the entire year.
By implementing these 5 tips into your driving strategy, you’ll worry less about fluctuating gas prices and keep more of the money you’ve earned.
Gridwise Can Get You There
Gridwise helps drivers optimize their business, unlocking opportunities for higher earnings and more savings. Sync all your driving and delivery apps and watch Gridwise seamlessly track your activity, helping you find the best times to drive, and giving you all of the information you need to make smart decisions for your business.
In the driver perks tab, you’ll find great deals and discounts exclusively for drivers who use Gridwise. You can also easily access our blog where we put together meaningful content for drivers who want to grow their business.
Gridwise is your co-pilot to getting the most out of your time on the road. We help you work out the details so you can focus on providing the best experience for your passengers — Download the app now!
