RubiRides enlists vetted freelancers to drive children to and from school and activities, as well as to take seniors to medical appointments.

Expected pay: $15 – $35 per hour

Husl$core: $$$$

Commissions & fees: NA

Where: Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia

Requirements: 23 or older; 5 + years driving experience; clean driving and criminal record; smart phone; 4-door vehicle that’s less than 10 years old; auto and ride-share insurance.

RubiRides Review:

Like RideZum and HopSkipDrive, RubiRides enlists freelancers to transport kids to and from school and after-school activities. The site also arranges rides for seniors, who need a lift to doctor’s appointments.

What makes this site stand out — for both freelancers and parents — is that RubiRides has an exceptionally transparent pay formula. And part of that formula — a 75 cent per minute wait fee for riders who keep drivers cooling their heels for more than 5 minutes — is likely to encourage patience.

Naturally, you don’t want your riders to be late. But, if someone is unavoidably delayed, this insures that the driver won’t suffer for it and, consequently, is less likely to be angry for the delay. That’s a good thing when you’re driving vulnerable populations like kids and the elderly.

The rest of the pay formula

Drivers get paid $15 for rides of 5 miles or less. They get an additional $1 for each added mile. If parents need them to chaperone a child into class or practice, drivers earn at least $5 extra. To boil it down: If the driver takes the child 10 miles, waits for 20 minutes, and chaperones the child into practice or school, he or she earns $32.50. (That’s $15 in base pay; $5 in extra mileage; $7.50 in wait fees; and $5 for the chaperone service.)

Noreen Butler, RubiRide’s founder and CEO, says drivers are busy from 7 a.m. to around 8:30 a.m. and then start getting rides again in the afternoon after 2:30. The site aims to have drivers earn about $100 a day, working just 4 to 5 hours.

Cleaning

Butler says the site also provides drivers with First Aid kits, materials to keep their cars Covid-clean, and will pay for a deep cleaning once a week. However, you’ll need to buy your own ride share insurance and must be able to pass regular background checks for both your driving and your criminal record.

Recommendations

We like this site and all of the others that offer a similar service — RideZum, Kango, KidCar and HopSkipDrive. The only shortcoming from our standpoint is that it has a limited geographic reach. They all do, really. But, if you’re someone who likes to drive and happen to live and work in an area served by one of these companies, we think this beats driving for Uber, Lyft and GrubHub by a mile.