DRIVING FOR DOLLARS

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With a longer route, both pay and driving time are higher. If tubes are scattered thinly, the pay can be less—unless they belong to a major-city paper. Often, big papers pay generous mileage allowances or offer lump-sum contracts for routes which may be cash money losses for them, but which pay out by increasing the geographic coverage they can show to advertisers.

Getting Started

First, check the classified ads; few route drivers make a career of the part-time but demanding work and turnover is high. (Many papers are constantly advertising for drivers, especially in winter months.) Then call the circulation departments of papers serving your area and inquire after "motor routes." Some papers operate their own route system; others contract to a semi-independent delivery service or to a totally independent firm. Ask for an interview, even if there aren't any openings near your home, and be ready to accept any route that'll bring in money. You can always switch jobs as they open up.

At the interview, you'll have to convince the route supervisor that you're eager to do the work. Ask knowledgeable questions: Are drivers eligible for health-plan benefits or are they independent contractors who aren't eligible? What are commission and mileage rates, how long are the routes, and how many customers are there on them? Find out when and where you get papers (a lengthy commute can lose you time and money). Is there much time-consuming walking for hand-deliveries—say, in apartment buildings? How about bundle-drop routes, where drivers carry bound packs of papers to stores and drop them for youth carriers?

Don't expect to get rich. Delivery services depend heavily on semi-retirees who drive as much to get out of the house as for money, or laid-off workers. Don't expect much job security either. Papers need a continual flow of new customers; many in the business believe that eager new drivers bring in the most new customers. However, if a route supplies your cash needs, it may be worth the anxiety.

Once on the road, you are your own boss. If you maintain or increase your customer list, deliver papers on time, and keep delivery tubes in good order, you will keep your job.

Your Vehicle

The key to making money is a tough, cheap, easily-repaired vehicle.

Economically, it is best to buy a small, used, four-cylinder car or mini-truck without power accessories; it should also be common in your area (so parts are readily available at junk yards). Don't buy a new car or test-drive a new design. Front-wheel drive has better traction but is more costly to repair than rear-wheel drive. A clutch is cheaper to repair, but an automatic transmission is much less tiring on a stop-and-start route.

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