With the global pandemic still raging on, such a news give us plenty of hope to know that one can earn nearly $10,000 from a full month of being a really, really hardworking private-hire driver.
According to a Facebook post by Singapore ride-hailing service Ryde on Thursday (Sept 24), a driver managed to rake in a grand total of $9,882.70 (after deducting service and platform fee) for the month of August 2020 from completing 723 pickups.
This is amount is indeed astounding considering that the Covid-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the usage of ride-hailing services. According to a survey published by Milieu Insight, 45 percent of respondents in Singapore stated that they were spending less on ride-hailing services than usual in the past month of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However the trend may pick back right up with safe distancing advisory still in place and as a good measure, many still prefer to hire a car ride instead of risking close contacts with crowds on buses and trains.
In an interview with AsiaOne, Ryde spokesperson stated that the driver worked every single day for the month of August, typically starting work as early as 6.45am. And it is noted that the Ryder is not even the highest earner. However, the driver is said to be within the top band in terms of driver earnings with consistent “stellar ratings”, which stands at an average of 4.95 out of 5.
The Ryde spokesperson further clarified that the driver has been doing well for the Ryde 2.5K Challenge, in which its driver-partners have to complete certain tasks between Sept 18 till the end of the year to score bonuses.
From such a story, we do get a glimmer of hope for the opportunities available for anyone to make good during the Covid-19 pandemic. Signing up as a driver with ride-hailing companies or private car valet companies is still a viable option for extra income during these turbulent times.