3 Full-Time Professions In Singapore Where Driving Private-Hire Car Makes Financial Sense

With demand for private-hire car services rising, Singapore’s ride-hailing industry is quickly expanding, with more willing drivers taking the wheel.

As we are famous for having one of the highest car prices in the world, naturally, some folks would capitalise on private-hire car driving to realise their dreams of owning a car, because renting obviously incurs much less initial costs than buying one.

What about those who already own a car? How does one justify the high costs of car ownership?

You use it ever more frequently, of course – beyond your routined house-to-office commute.

It’s no wonder why some Singaporeans are turning to driving GrabCar as a way to earn extra income from their cars.

It doesn’t matter if you’re working full-time, part-time, unemployed or still schooling, you’ll qualify to drive GrabCar as long as you’re a licensed Singaporean or PR driver.

Source: GrabCar

For car owners who are currently not working, you should start stepping on the pedal and collect cash by driving GrabCar! If you’re a full time professional with a job that offers fluid control over your work schedule, you can also seriously consider private-hire car driving.

Here’s three types of professionals in Singapore, who we think should fatten their bank accounts through private-hire car driving – without ever compromising their current professional commitments.

# 1 Insurance Agents

Most insurance agents schedule meetings on weekday evenings and some would even sacrifice their restful weekends. When not running around, agents spend lots of time planning for clients and clearing piles of mundane administrative work.

Between clearing paperwork and meeting clients, agents could either use those unpaid hours soliciting potential clients, or monetise that timeframe by driving a private-hire car.

On top of the extra income they earn from driving, they could nurture passengers into client leads. We’re not saying all passengers would become new clients but the crux of a successful insurance career, is one’s ability to network and make meaningful elevator pitches. Believe it or not, this close proximity with one another within the car for 15 minutes or so, gives the agent power to steer and control conversations naturally. Now you know why parents give pep talks to their kids while driving them to school!

Ok, let’s crunch some numbers. As a rough guide, if we assume an agent drives 2 hours in the morning between 8am to 10am, and another 2 hours in the late afternoon from between 4pm to 6pm, this agent could clock in 4 hours a day, or about 20 hours a week (weekdays only).

Based on a well-researched article from Jefferson Soh, he calculated that a GrabCar driver, who also owns a car, could make about $25 per hour after deducting fuel costs. This could potentially work out to an extra $2,000 each month.

In the world of insurance, $2,000 is similar to what an agent could earn by selling 1-2 whole life insurance policies.

While it’s hard to quantify how $2,000 will translate into part of a seasoned insurance agent’s total earnings, this amount could easily be a rookie agent’s regular monthly income.

Read Also: Thinking Of Being An Insurance Agent? Here Is The Salary Which You Should Be Prepared For

# 2 Real Estate Agent

Similar to insurance agents, real estate agents are busy working when most of us are not – in the evenings and during weekends – that’s the golden period of apartment viewings.

Like insurance agents, they too spend time marketing housing properties under their care; matching the right properties to their clients’ needs and squeezing impossible amounts of viewings into their schedule.

It is common for last minute appointments to be cancelled or rearranged. So again, they have extra pockets of free time for some driving hours to supplement their income.

Driving Grab allows them to make money whenever they are not busy with their real estate work. Agents could drive more during lull periods and reduce their driving during busy periods.

Moreover, many agents are also car owners. They can monetise their cars while selling properties, and who’s to say you can’t pick up a passenger on your way to a viewing if you plan ahead, or pick another one on your way home? For non-car owners, the convenience of having a car would translate into less travelling time and a more efficient schedule.

Assuming a real estate agent’s morning driving shift is from 7am to 10am (3 hours), plus an additional two hours on two weekday nights each week – that’s a total of about 19 hours per week. This would work out to be an extra $1,900 per month based on a $25/hour rate, which would be enough for them to sign up for a 2-year membership with PropertyGuru as a specialist agent.

# 3 Full-Time Tutors

Most tutors might work during the late afternoons and evenings on weekdays and during weekends.

It’s also normal for a private tutor to have gaps in their schedules. For example, you may end a tutoring session at 5pm with your next session only beginning at 8pm. Driving a private-hire car during this gap time makes perfect financial sense.

A full-time tutor, who decides to drive from between 7am – 10am during each weekday can expect to earn about $1,500 more each month, based on a $25/hour rate. This would be similar to taking an extra 15 more classes each month, based on a 2-hour per class, $50/hour rate.

Extra Commitment Is Required For Long-Term Sustainability

It would be irresponsible for us to suggest that everyone in these professions can make quick money without putting in much effort. Similar to all jobs, commitment is required to make this a success – even just on a part-time basis.

For starters, you should first consider if the suggested timings work for you. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. You may want the extra time for family commitments, or your work schedules may be drastically different from our assumptions. You could even drive more than what we suggest!

Long-term sustainability is also important, so don’t forget to consider your health, especially with the extra working hours added, over a long time.

With that being said, here’s a quick recap of how much one can expect to earn from driving GrabCar based on our assumptions.

	Hours Worked (Weekdays Only)	Hours Per Week	Expected Earnings Each Month (after fuel)
Insurance Agent	8am –10am 4pm – 6pm	20	$2,000
Real Estate Agent	7am – 10am 2 hours for two weekdays night	19	$1,900
Full-Time Tutor	7am – 10am	15	$1,500

* These figures assume you already own, or have access to, your own private car. If you are intending to rent a car just to drive for a few hours each day, the figures may not work out favorably unless you are able to split the rent with another driver.

** Assumption is based on a $25/Hour rate

To find out if you can sign up as a GrabCar driver today, you can click on this link.

Are you currently in one of these three professions? Do you foresee driving a private-hire car as a viable opportunity for you to earn more income while still performing well in your day job? Or have you already tried doing this and have further insights to share with us? If so, we would love for you to share your views with us on Facebook.

If you think this is something that could make sense for you, you can also sign up as a GrabCar driver today.

Happy driving!

This article was written in collaboration with Grab.

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