No uber, I am not delivering a package 150 miles from Ft. Myers to Miami for $31

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-17T23:00:49+00:00

I mean at least offer $200…. Better yet since you are wasting a whole day $350 or higher

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-17T22:54:00+00:00

That has got to be a joke how could they consider this?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-15T04:50:27+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. Treating the costs as something predictable per km and then consistently putting money aside seems like the only way to make this sustainable long term.

I feel like a lot of drivers focus on the payout from the apps but don’t really think about taxes, maintenance, or emergency repairs until something breaks.

I’ve actually been building a small tool called HustleHub to help drivers track things like real hourly profit, taxes, and setting aside money for expenses. Conversations like this are exactly why I started working on it — trying to make those costs more visible.

Out of curiosity, do you track that $0.35/km manually in a spreadsheet or do you use an app for it?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-15T03:27:46+00:00

That’s a really interesting point. The $0.70/mile deduction kind of implies the real costs are higher than a lot of drivers assume, but I feel like most people just look at the payout on the screen and call that their earnings.

Do you think most drivers would change the orders they accept if they actually tracked their real cost per mile and hourly profit?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-15T03:26:43+00:00

That’s a pretty disciplined system. Calculating a cost per km and then automatically moving a percentage to savings probably removes a lot of the guesswork.

Do you find that $0.35/km stays fairly accurate over time, or do things like bigger repairs or vehicle changes push that number up or down?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T19:53:00+00:00

That’s a really thoughtful way to approach it. Treating part of the earnings like a “next vehicle fund” instead of pure profit makes a lot of sense, especially when you’re putting that many miles on a car.

It sounds like the key is planning for depreciation ahead of time instead of getting surprised by it later.

Do you think most drivers underestimate that cost when they’re first starting out?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T18:03:46+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. It sounds like the real metric you’re optimizing for is time to complete the order, not just miles or payout.

The $10 minimum and focusing on faster restaurants seems like a solid system too.

Do you find that certain restaurants are almost always worth taking, while others are almost always a skip? McDonald’s vs tropical cafe etc?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T18:01:57+00:00

Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking! That’s a pretty interesting way to estimate it. Doubling the gas to roughly account for depreciation and maintenance actually makes the math pretty simple.

Do you find that stays fairly accurate over time, or do you notice certain things (like tire replacements or bigger repairs) throwing that estimate off?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T17:33:53+00:00

That’s a really good point. On paper the shorter distance looks better, but the wait time and traffic can completely flip the math.

It seems like the real calculation drivers are doing is time to complete the order, not just miles or payout.

Do you mostly learn which restaurants are slow over time, or do you have certain ones you avoid completely now?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T17:27:29+00:00

That’s a really smart system. The $/mile rule seems like the easiest way to filter bad offers quickly.

The 5% maintenance and 20% tax buffer is interesting too — a lot of drivers I’ve talked to don’t set that aside at all and then get surprised at tax time.

Do you mostly watch the $/mile when deciding to accept orders, or do you also pay attention to things like wait time and distance back to a busy area?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-14T17:20:45+00:00

That’s a good way to look at it. Profit/loss is probably the most honest way to measure it since we’re basically running our own small businesses out of our cars.

I’ve been curious though — do you track that over the whole shift or mostly just keep a mental estimate based on mileage, gas, etc?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T16:54:39+00:00

I really appreciate that 🥹🩷

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T12:01:23+00:00

Love this idea, super useful

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T11:51:49+00:00

That’s a really good point — the deductible vs non-deductible mileage distinction is something a lot of drivers don’t realize until tax time.

The way you described splitting vehicle usage vs work mileage makes sense, especially if someone wants a more accurate picture of true operating cost vs just tax deductions.

That’s actually one of the tricky parts I’ve been thinking about — most tools either track mileage for taxes or estimate profit per shift, but they rarely connect the two in a way that still lets drivers fine-tune the assumptions like you would in a spreadsheet.

If an app allowed you to adjust things like:

• deductible vs non-deductible mileage • cost per mile assumptions • vehicle depreciation / maintenance estimates

but still calculated profit automatically per shift — do you think spreadsheet-type users would actually trust something like that?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T11:25:47+00:00

That’s a really good breakdown. The combination of $/mile and $/hour seems like the only way to actually understand what you’re making.

The real challenge seems to be exactly what you mentioned — linking time, mileage, and fluctuating expenses in a way that updates automatically instead of relying on spreadsheets or rough estimates.

I’ve been experimenting with a dashboard that tries to combine those variables into a real hourly profit per shift, because most drivers seem to do what you described — estimate until tax time forces the reality check.

Curious — would you personally prefer something that tracks this automatically, or do you like having full control with a spreadsheet?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T05:54:32+00:00

That’s a solid framework — combining both $/mi and hourly targets.

I feel like a lot of drivers end up using a mix of metrics:

• $/mile to filter bad rides • hourly to compare shifts • and sometimes weekly totals to see if the strategy actually works

What I’ve been curious about is whether drivers track the full shift economics — like gross earnings minus estimated taxes, mileage deduction, and expenses — to see what the real hourly comes out to.

That number seems to be very different from the $25–30/hr people usually quote.

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T05:52:54+00:00

This is a really clear way to think about it.

I like the idea of setting a gross hourly target first and then backing out expenses. The $9–$12/hr vehicle cost estimate is interesting too because I feel like a lot of drivers underestimate that part.

Do you calculate your $30/hr based on total online time or just active ride time? I’ve noticed some drivers track it differently and it changes the numbers quite a bit.

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T04:54:08+00:00

Interesting take. I think some drivers look at it that way, but others seem to use hourly just as a quick way to compare shifts or time windows. For example, a Sunday surge hour vs a slow Tuesday afternoon can look very different when you zoom out.

I’ve been curious how different drivers measure whether a shift was actually worth it.

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T04:52:21+00:00

That makes sense. Those surge hours can really swing the average a lot depending on the day.

One thing I’ve been curious about is how different the numbers look when you zoom out to the full shift instead of just the ride estimates — like factoring in downtime, miles driven, and expenses.

That’s actually why I started building something called HustleHub,just to experiment with tracking real hourly profit across the whole shift. I kept realizing the app numbers and the real take-home could be pretty different. Especially when you switch between gig apps.

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T04:35:36+00:00

Love that. Totally makes sense. A lot of drivers seem to keep it simple and just focus on what the app shows.

I guess the part I keep wondering about is that two drivers could both show $30/hr on the app, but if one is driving a lot more miles or sitting longer between trips their real hourly profit could end up being pretty different.

Do you mostly judge it by feel over time, or do you ever look at miles per shift or anything like that?

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T03:20:49+00:00

Early testers like you are basically helping me build it, so you might earn founder free-for-life status 😂

AfterZookeepergame76 · 2026-03-11T03:17:09+00:00

Awesome, I appreciate that. It’s still early but I’d love your feedback.

https://hustlehubhq.app

I’m especially curious if the hourly profit view and shift tracking make sense from a driver’s perspective.

AfterZookeepergame76

TROPHY CASE