Great flexibility comes with even greater uncertainty when you driver for apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Uber, and Lyft.
You may be able to set your own hours and work whenever you want, but if you sign on at the wrong time you might not make as much as you need for the day.
Discovering the best and worst times to drive is a huge topic of conversation among delivery drivers.
Check out forums like reddit and you’ll see drivers swapping info:
- “Is Tuesday always the slowest day for everyone?”
- “Tuesday and Thursday are the slowest day for me”
- “I’m in California and Wednesday is the slowest. Mondays are usually really good for me.”
So what are the best days and times to drive on apps like Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Instacart?
You can find real data about the best days and times to drive on Gridwise. It uses crowdfunded info to show you how much drivers earn on each day of the week.
Gridwise — Real data about best times to drive, and more
Gridwise is a gig economy app that tracks your earnings and miles, shows information about upcoming events, and closely tracks local flight info.
One of the best new features on Gridwise is called ‘When to drive.’ It shows drivers real data about the best times to drive. When to drive is not currently available in all cities, but Gridwise is gradually introducing it in more and more locations.
Gridwise uses crowdsourced data from users that shows earnings data for every day of the week. You can see earnings per hour, trips per hour, and earnings per trip.
You can see earnings data for rideshare, food, delivery, and package delivery. That means it’s great for delivery app drivers, Uber and Lyft drivers, and Instacart drivers.
The best days for Uber Eats and DoorDash in Los Angeles
The ‘When to drive’ section on Gridwise in Los Angeles shows a lot of data about the best and worst times to drive for delivery apps.
For delivery drivers, most think of their earnings in terms of earnings per trip and earnings per hour.
The highest earnings per hour in Los Angeles is on Monday, at $24.48 per hour*. The lowest earnings per hour is $17.29 per hour on Thursdays.
In terms of earnings per delivery, Los Angeles delivery drivers earn a high of $11.39 per delivery on Mondays and a low of $9.15 per delivery on Wednesdays.
The data is in: Thursdays are slow
*According to DoorDash, you can get paid $23 per hour while on a delivery. Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries completed, time of day, location, and expenses. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts
The best and worst times of day on Uber Eats and DoorDash
You can also see earnings data by time of day. Gridwise breaks the data down into morning, afternoon, evening, and night.
For delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash, the highest earnings per hour is on Sunday mornings, at $26.32 per hour. The lowest earnings were on Wednesdays nights, at $17.20 per hour.
Gridwise shows earnings data based on time of day
Related
The best days to drive for Uber and Lyft
The conventional wisdom for Uber and Lyft drivers is that the weekends are the best times to drive. With data from Gridwise, we can finally get solid proof that certain days and times are much more lucrative than others.
Uber/Lyft Earnings per trip: Many drivers like to think of their earnings in terms of earnings per trip. The idea is that you want to earn the most that you can while you have a passenger in the car.
In Los Angeles, the highest earning per trip is on Sunday, at $23.94 per trip. The lowest is Tuesday, at $13.97 per trip.
Earnings per trip varies quite a bit depending on the day
Earnings based on time of day: Understanding commuting patterns is important for Uber and Lyft drivers. Gridwise has data for different times of day, which can help you decide exactly when to drive.
In Los Angeles, Gridwise reports that drivers earn $38.22 per hour on Monday mornings and $29.17 on Saturday mornings. The Monday morning commute is a lot more lucrative than comparatively slow Saturday mornings.
Uber/Lyft trips per hour: If you’re trying to hit a Lyft streak or an Uber Quest, you want to do as many trips per hour as you can. Gridwise has data showing trips per hour for each day of the week.
In Los Angeles, the highest number of trips per hour in the evening is on Friday, at 2.61 trips per hour. The lowest is Tuesday, at 2.24 trips per hour.
In the mornings, Monday has 2.71 trips per hour, and Friday only has 2.22 trips per hour.
Trips per hour is important for Quests and Streaks
The best days to shop for Instacart & Shipt
Gridwise also shows earnings data for grocery delivery apps like Instacart and Ships.
In Los Angeles, the best earnings per hour is on Sunday, at $25.86 per hour. The lowest earnings per hour was on Monday, at $20.92 per hour.
In terms of earnings per trip, earnings per trip data doesn’t vary too much day to day. The highest earnings per trip is on Sunday a $20.44 per hour, and the lowest is $19.17 per trip on Mondays.
Unlock the most earnings data with Gridwise Plus
Gridwise has a free and a paid level. The free level includes most of the features of the app, including the mileage and earnings tracker, and trips per hour data.
Gridwise Plus unlocks the full data set, including earnings per hour data and earnings per trip data. Plus also unlocks data from the past 4 to 12 weeks, along with the ability to filter by service type.
Currently Gridwise plus is $9.99 per month or $95.99 per year. There is a 7-day free trial available, so there’s no risk in checking it out.
Use Gridwise data to reach your earnings goal faster
Figuring out how to maximize your earnings is one of the biggest challenges for gig workers. You can’t think of the work in terms of 9 to 5. You have to figure out the best days to work and the best times to drive, then you have to target those times.
Without any help, it might take weeks or months to figure out your market.
With a tool like Gridwise, you can immediately see the best days, the best times, and the best locations.
Sign up for Gridwise here. Most of the app features are free, and a free trial is available for premium features.
Reliablerider says
Thanks for sharing this blog. Ride-hailing services currently pay a slightly higher average hourly rate than delivery. However, from city to city, there are wide variations in hourly earnings and in which platforms pay best.