Some Singaporean car owners share they do side deliveries and earn up to over S$50 for a ‘slight detour’

SINGAPORE: Online conversations among Singaporeans revealed that some car owners in the city-state are taking on side deliveries while heading home, with some earning over S$50 for a “slight detour” along the way.

A Singaporean on r/asksg asked whether it is common among car owners in Singapore to do side deliveries these days, prompting discussion online.

He wrote, “I collected some parcels from Lalamove, and the delivery guy was in formal office attire. Got curious and asked him about it. Turns out the order was on the way home from his work; that’s why he did it. Plus, he said he signed up because he gets a petrol discount,” asking others if they do the same in their free time or as a side hustle.

He also asked if it’s worth the time.

Commenters shared that they mostly do deliveries when it’s somewhere near their area, but they don’t do it often.

One said a five- to 10-minute detour earns him S$30 to over S$50, adding that he also gets a 23% discount on petrol. When asked whether he still gets a petrol discount even if he does not take orders often, he said it is “actually no different from a normal bank card discount”, estimating it at around 23% when flashing his Lalamove profile at a Caltex counter staff. He added that it is similar to fleet cards used by Grab or foodpanda delivery drivers, which also get 23% discounts at Esso.

Another commenter said, “Not sure if it’s common, but I recently joined and did some deliveries when I’m out running errands. I can get S$20-S$30 for those longer-distance orders? So if it’s on the way, really nothing to lose lol,” adding that shorter distance orders also earn him S$15 to S$20 sometimes. “If the detours are not troublesome, I don’t mind earning here and there if I have the time,” he added.

Meanwhile, a third shared an encounter while collecting office lunch ordered through a third-party delivery platform: “Did not expect a Jaguar to pull in and dude passed us the food.” 

Earlier in June, a similar question asked by a Singaporean looking into doing side deliveries to cover “some petrol and earn a bit of money” said on r/drivingsg that he feels it makes sense rather than not driving, especially with the higher Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and petrol prices.

Commenters, however, pushed back against the idea, with one saying: “If you need to do side gigs to support your car, then imho (in my honest opinion) a car isn’t for you man.”

One who had tried the side hustle casually added that while he actually enjoyed it, “It will probably be different if you’re relying on it for the money.” /TISG

Read also: ‘Why are people giving respect to food delivery riders?’ — Singapore man says, ‘My income is higher; I look down on them because S$5K full-time job isn’t hard to find’