Vehicles & equipment
Choosing a car, running costs, bikes, and the kit that earns its keep.
Guides
Driving for DPD: owner driver, employed or Connect
There are three ways to deliver for DPD, and they are three different jobs for tax. An owner driver runs a route as a business, an employed driver is on PAYE, and a DPD Connect courier uses their own car on a local round. Here is how to tell which suits you.
Getting startedUpdated 29/09/2026
Driving for Addison Lee: the full guide
Addison Lee is London's largest private hire and courier firm, and it works differently from the apps: most drivers rent a car from it, the work leans on corporate accounts, and holiday pay is paid on every job. Here is how that shapes your money and your tax.
Getting startedUpdated 29/09/2026
Starting on Amazon Flex: requirements, insurance and pay day
What you need before your first Amazon Flex block: the right car, or an e-bike where it is offered, the two insurance policies Amazon asks for, the checks, how blocks are booked, and the day the money arrives.
Getting startedUpdated 29/09/2026
Capital allowances on a vehicle
A capital allowance is tax relief on something you bought to keep and use, spread over years rather than deducted at once. You cannot claim capital allowances on a vehicle and use the mileage rate for it, so for most gig drivers this is a road not taken.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
What it really costs you per mile
Your cost per mile is fuel plus tyres, servicing, insurance, repairs and the value the car loses, divided by the miles you drive. Fuel is usually less than half of it, which is why a driver who only counts fuel thinks the work pays better than it does.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026
Fuel against electric for gig driving
On home charging an electric car is dramatically cheaper per mile than petrol, often by a factor of four or five. On public rapid charging the gap narrows to very little. Whether it works for you is mostly a question of where you charge, not of what you drive.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026
ULEZ, clean air zones and the congestion charge
If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standard, driving into a charging zone costs a daily fee. London ULEZ and the seven English clean air zones each set their own rules, and a Class C zone charges vans and taxis but not private cars.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026
Buying, leasing or PCP as a gig driver
For high-mileage gig work, buying a cheap car outright is usually cheapest, because leases and PCP deals price mileage and you will exceed the allowance. The exception is an electric lease where the fuel saving and the zone exemptions outweigh the monthly cost.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026
Your real hourly rate, and how to work it out
Your real hourly rate is what the platforms paid you, minus what the vehicle cost you, minus the tax on the profit, divided by every hour you were working. It is commonly a quarter below the headline figure, and it is the only number worth comparing between platforms.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026
Articles
Amazon Flex, Evri, DPD and Yodel: parcel work compared
Parcel work suits drivers who want daytime hours and a predictable load. The four big options differ on the vehicle they need, how you are paid, how often, and how much of the week they expect. Here they are side by side.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 29/09/2026
Renting a PCO car: mileage rate or actual costs?
If you rent your private hire car by the week, you cannot claim both the rental and the mileage rate. Which one to claim depends on the rent, your miles and how much of the week the car works. Here is the arithmetic.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 29/09/2026
Mileage method or actual costs: which is worth more?
For most delivery drivers the mileage method wins, and it is not close. At 55p a mile it usually beats the real running cost of an ordinary car, and it needs no receipts.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 20/08/2026
Car, moped or bike: which is best for delivery work?
A bike wins in a dense city centre, a moped wins in most towns, and a car wins on parcel work and bad weather. The tax relief follows the same order in reverse.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 20/08/2026
Is Amazon Flex worth it?
Blocks look well paid until you subtract fuel, wear and tax. Here is how to work out what a Flex block is actually worth to you.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 19/08/2026
What makes a good delivery car?
Running cost per mile matters more than the sticker price. How to compare vehicles for delivery work, and where electric does and does not pay.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 19/08/2026