Kyte

What is Kyte?

Kyte is a car rental company that enlists freelancers to bring cars to customers and pick them up, wherever the customer may be. The site operates in a handful of U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York.

Kyte review (for drivers)

Freelance drivers are told that they can earn up to $35 per hour. However, drivers are paid per gig — not per hour. And many say the earnings expectations are highly unrealistic.

That’s mainly because Kyte leaves its freelance drivers stranded wherever they drop off a car. The site expects you to find your way to and from their assignments either on foot, scooter, skateboard, foldable bike or bus. And the site doesn’t compensate you for your transportation costs or time.

How it works:

When asked to deliver a car to a customer: You, the freelancer, pick up a car from Kyte’s lot and drive the car to where the renter is. The renter takes the car. You find your own transportation back home, to your next assignment or back to the Kyte lot where you started.

If you’re picking up a car from the customer: You find your own way there; take the car; refuel it (with a Kyte debit card); bring to where Kyte wants it; inspect it; take photos; and file a report. And, then, of course, you find your own way back.

Says the site: “Willingness to hustle and get crafty with transit is the key for success.”

Transportation expenses

You are not compensated for any expenses you might have getting to and from the drop-off or pick-up points.  The site recommends that you get an electric scooter, folding bike, bus/subway pass, or good walking shoes to get to and from the site’s assignments. Naturally, if you don’t already have these things, this is a cost of doing business with Kyte.

Your time

Short assignments — those you’re likely to be offered $14 for — are usually an 8 to 10 minute drive from the pick-up point, according to a site onboarding expert. But, when accounting for the time each job takes, you need to consider the time you’ll spend getting back from wherever Kyte left you stranded.

According to Google maps, a 10-minute drive could take 30 – 45 minutes when you’re on foot or using public transportation. When you account for that time, you understand why freelancers say they’re earning a pittance for each assignment.

More time considerations

And, Kyte wants freelancers to arrive at the Kyte lot 30 – 45 minutes before the customer needs to be picked up when you’re delivering a car.

If you’re picking up a car from the customer, the customer has a 10-minute “grace period” to show up before you can leave. If you’re willing to stick around for an additional 20 minutes, you might get a $10 bonus.

Best-case scenario

It appears that Kyte’s rosy income projections are based on a best-case scenario, where you book back-to-back drop-offs and pick-ups that are within minutes of each other. Better yet, you don’t hit traffic, everyone is on time and customers tip.

If the planets align in this ideal manner,  you might make minimum wage or more here. But, when looking at Kyte’s service area, we think the odds of striking it rich with lottery tickets are better.

Pay

The site pays per job and says payments are based on the distance the car is from the customer or Kyte lot. However, because there is no accounting for the fact that you’re left stranded at the drop-off points, you should figure that the “short” jobs, are likely to require two hours to complete — especially considering how early Kyte wants you to show up and how long it expects you to wait.

Freelancers are supposed to be paid within two days of completing a job.

Recommendations:

When you account for your costs (i.e. public transportation/scooter/bike) and transportation time, your chance of earning even minimum wage with Kyte is remote. Notably, a company called Draiver enlists freelancers to deliver cars for rental car companies and auto dealerships and it won’t leave you stranded when you do. Draiver is a significantly better option than Kyte.

Other possibilities? If you want to drive for a living and don’t have a car, we recommend Alto. Alto has its own fleet of cars that it maintains and it hires drivers as employees.

If you do have a car or truck, we recommend GoShare, which pays $33 to more than $100 an hour for delivering items in your own car or truck.

What their drivers say (from Indeed)