Rs 1,200 a day on Rapido: BBA student shares 3-month gig work experience

A BBA second-year student from Bengaluru spent his three-month college vacation working as a Rapido captain, earning around Rs 1,200 on a decent day. The experience, he said, gave him a closer look at the realities of gig work.

The student shared his experience in a Reddit post, explaining how he initially took up the work as a temporary side hustle after completing his first-year exams.

The student said he would usually go online around 8 am and return home by 4:30 pm, spending roughly 8.5 hours a day working.

On a decent day, he could earn around Rs 1,200. He said he initially had little understanding of how the platform worked, but gradually learnt where and when demand was higher and how to make better use of the platform’s algorithm.

Once he understood the patterns, earning what he considered decent money became relatively straightforward, he said.

During slower periods, particularly between 12 pm and 3 pm when ride demand was lower, he also took up food delivery orders.

‘I DIDN’T REALLY TAKE BREAKS’

The experience also made the student think about people who rely on gig work as their primary source of income.

He said that while he was online, he was mostly either working or waiting for the next order and did not really take breaks during those hours. However, because he was doing it only during his college vacation, he always had the option of simply going home.

For full-time gig workers, he noted, that choice may not always exist.

RATINGS, CANCELLATIONS AND SUPPORT

The student also raised concerns about the amount of control workers have over their work.

He claimed that a customer’s cancellation could apparently affect a captain’s rating, despite the cancellation not being the worker’s fault. He also said getting proper support when something went wrong could be difficult.

At the same time, he said his interactions with passengers were largely positive. While regularly working around places such as Majestic and railway stations, he had conversations with several passengers and said he did not have a negative interaction with a customer during the three months.

‘FOR ME, IT WAS A SIDE HUSTLE’

The student said his biggest takeaway was the difference between doing gig work temporarily and depending on it for a livelihood.

For him, the roughly Rs 1,200 he could make on a good day was vacation money. For someone working full-time, the same amount could be crucial for paying household bills.

He said the experience gave him a first-hand view of the waiting, fuel costs, uncertainty, platform rules, customer issues and restaurant delays that come with gig work.

He ended his Reddit post by asking full-time Rapido, Swiggy and Zomato workers about their experiences with earnings, ratings, cancellations and platform support.

(Disclaimer: This story is based on a social media post. The details, including figures, background, and outcomes, have not been independently verified by India Today. The article is intended for informational purposes only, and readers are advised to exercise their own discretion before drawing conclusions or making decisions based on the content.)

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