Bengaluru student spends 3 months as Rapido rider, shares earnings and learnings

A college student's three-month stint as a Rapido rider in Bengaluru during his vacation gave him more than just extra money. In a viral Reddit post, he detailed his daily earnings, long hours, delivery hassles and more.A college student from Bengaluru shared his earnings and learnings as a Rapido gig worker. (representational image)A student from Bengaluru spent his three-month college break working for Rapido, earning up to Rs 1,200 a day. In his post, he gave a glimpse of a first-hand look at what gig work is like when it is one’s only source of income.Sharing his experience on Reddit, the second-year BBA student said he would log in at around 8 am and work until 4.30 pm, putting in nearly 8.5 hours a day. “On a decent day, I could make around Rs 1,200,” he wrote.He initially had little understanding of how the platform worked. Over time, however, he learnt when and where demand was higher and how to work around the platform’s algorithm.“Once I figured that out, earning decently became surprisingly straightforward,” he said. The student also used the slower afternoon hours to take food orders. Between noon and 3 pm, when rides were fewer, he would switch to deliveries.One experience involving a food order left him particularly frustrated. He accepted a Swiggy order through Rapido because the destination was close to his home. When he reached the ice cream shop, he found that a power cut had shut down the machines and the restaurant could not prepare the order. The restaurant asked him to contact Swiggy, while Swiggy directed him to Rapido. Rapido, in turn, sent him back to Swiggy. “Basically, I was stuck in a Swiggy - Rapido infinite loop,” he wrote.After nearly 45 minutes, he found a way out himself. The destination was a tuition centre, so he searched for its number on Google Maps and called them. The person who answered eventually spoke to the restaurant staff and got the order cancelled.The student said the situation could have been far worse had the destination been a private residence. Rapido, he noted, does not show riders the customer’s contact details until the food has been picked up.He also spoke about the broader experience of being a rider in Bengaluru, including spending time around busy areas such as railway stations. Despite noticing the presence of auto drivers, he said he never faced a confrontation during his three months on the platform.The experience also changed how he viewed gig work. “I got to see what gig work actually feels like from the worker's side,” he wrote, pointing to fuel costs, waiting time, uncertainty and platform rules.See the post:His biggest takeaway was simple: “Doing gig work for 3 months as a student is very different from doing it because your family depends on it.”The account prompted users to look beyond the daily earnings and at the less visible side of gig work. It focused on the long hours, fuel expenses, waiting time and the struggle to get help when a platform issue arises.What are your thoughts on this?- EndsPublished By: Srimoyee ChowdhuryPublished On: Aug 20, 2026 08:54 IST