Use this guide before you sign up to drive or ride for a delivery or ride-hailing app, or if you already do and are not sure it is worth it. Have your vehicle's running costs, your insurance renewal and any app earnings statements ready. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Step by step
Choose the type of work and what it needs
Ride-hailing means carrying passengers, which in England requires a private hire driver licence from your council or Transport for London, a licensed vehicle and use of a licensed operator, and checks such as an enhanced DBS check, a medical and a knowledge or safeguarding test. Food and parcel delivery can be done by car, moped, motorbike, bicycle or e-bike, with no private hire licence, but you need suitable insurance and a vehicle that is legal for the road. An e-bike only counts as a bicycle if it meets the electrically assisted pedal cycle rules; otherwise it needs registration, insurance and a licence like a moped. Expect busy periods in evenings, weekends and bad weather, and unpaid waiting time between jobs.
The rest of this guide is for members
The rest of this guide – the remaining steps, a ready-to-use checklist, practical tips and fixes for common problems – is for members. Membership unlocks every ABCDayZ guide.
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