The early morning hours stayed pretty busy for me thankfully, but I am about ready to head home to get some sleep shortly. Since it has been unusually warm these past couple of days, perhaps I will even try to go for a run this afternoon, which would be my first run in months.
I use the Stride Tax app to keep track of my mileage for tax deductions. I believe the deduction is 54 cents per mile, which takes into account gas expenses as well as maintenance in the vehicle due to the wear and tear that all this driving incurs. Obviously for a 12 year old van like the one I am driving, a ten mile ride is not nearly costing me $5.40, however since I can use that deduction I do, because it will mean paying less tax on my 1099 in regards to the meager income I am making here.
If using the 54 cent per mile deduction, my hourly income is definitely less than $10 an hour, and very pathetic. However this is more enjoyable and flexible than a basic low paying job, so that is why I chose to do it for this time period in between real jobs.
As for people tipping, I don’t see a big enough difference between races to make it notable. Although based on my over 300 rides I have noticed that white men have tipped me noticably better than white women, but black women have tipped me far better than black men. Generally people who I am taking to or from a bar or airport/train station tip better than those I am taking to or from work or grocery store. Obviously this goes back to the fact that the higher income bracket of passengers tips better than the lower income ones.
I will try to post a few more thoughts in a bit.