‘Donkey job’: Bengaluru man unemployed for 1.5 years turns cab driver, shares struggle of gig workers

Bengaluru man reveals harsh reality of gig workers. (AI-generated image)

India’s gig economy includes millions of workers who spend long hours on the job while earning low pay. Social media posts are increasingly highlighting the reality of life behind the services people use every day.

A recent post by a Bengaluru cab driver has shed light on the financial and physical strain faced by gig workers. The driver explained that he was unemployed for one and a half years and had debts from a failed business. To manage his expenses, he rented a yellow-board cab and began working with Uber and Rapido.

In a post shared on r/bangalore, he wrote, “I use Rapido and Uber and drive close to 16 hrs every day. I make around 4k, out of which 1.5k goes to car rent, 1.2k towards CNG and 200 for food/water. That leaves me with close to 1k daily. It’s really hard, especially with the traffic in the city.”

This shows how much of his income goes into basic costs. The daily car rental is Rs 1,500, fuel costs are around Rs 1,200, and food and water take about Rs 200, leaving him with roughly Rs 1,000 a day.

The driver also described the physical toll of his job, “Legs pain, knees shout loud and clear to stop. I sleep for 6 hrs a day and am not even active on any social media lately because, no time literally.”

Drivers face continuous pressure from the apps they work for. Calling it a ‘donkey job’ he explained, “The app functions like fastest fingers first… If I don’t accept the order quickly, say 5–6 seconds, someone else will. This leads to a decrease in my performance rating for not accepting the orders.”

He also described the routine after returning home, “I wash the car once I return, however tired I am, stopping for fuel and waiting in the long queues. Is this even living? This hard work takes me nowhere, but this is the reality of thousands of jobs for crores of Indians. Cheap labour is why others can enjoy the privilege. Either be the exploiter or be exploited.”

The rant of a Driver byu/Next_Candy_3491 inbangalore

The post quickly went viral and received widespread attention on social media. Many readers expressed sympathy and support. One user wrote, “That sounds like a tough gig! I have nothing to say except that you will get through this. This too shall pass.” Another said, “In every line you wrote, I could feel both the mental and physical pain.”

Some readers discussed the costs of renting a cab. One person said, “The recent time I spoke to a driver of a Wagon R, he said he pays 450/- a day to the fleet agency as rental and still makes 3-4k per day. 1.5k per day seems to be way too high unless you're driving a big car.”

Many comments highlighted the need to respect gig workers. One wrote, “Hope everyone gets to read this. We take people who do these jobs for granted. In every line you wrote, I could feel both the mental and physical pain. Life is unfair, to the unprivileged and the privileged who gets to hear these stories and can’t do anything. Be kind.”

Disclaimer: The above incident has been reported based on an unverified Reddit post. Moneycontrol has not independently verified the claims.