Yahoo Finance This man earns $1,000 a month just sitting around
A Melbourne man has revealed how he uses his work vans to passively earn up to $1,000 a month.
Josh Reid Jones is the founder of the charitable organisation Just Be Nice Project, who has two vans used for that enterprise.
But when those vehicles are sitting idle, he rents them out to strangers on the Car Next Door platform and earns $800 to $1,000 in a good month.
Not only is it handy extra income, Jones likes that he can take some cars off the road and provide a service for people who can't afford to own a vehicle themselves.
"Overconsumption is something that we see drives a lot of issues, and not having access to things people need," he told Yahoo Finance.
"It's a pretty easy way to get on board and tick some of those boxes."
Yahoo Finance previously reported on Melbourne woman Josie Baynes, who earns a similar amount per month on Car Next Door. While her Toyota Corolla attracts customers looking for leisure, the clientele for Jones' Hi-Ace vans are very different.
"It's usually people moving house or moving large pieces of furniture. Two people I know have used [the vans] regularly. One was a florist and one was a guy looking to move art works," he said.
"Having said that, it has come back with a sticker on it from the Birdcage – someone has obviously used it to go to the races. And I've had a couple of photos from music festivals saying 'Hey, there's your van!'"
While Baynes' cash cow was the per-kilometre charge from customers doing a long road trip to the beach or Great Ocean Road, the best selling point for Jones is that vans are expensive to own.
"It's not economical for other people to have vans for 365 days, if they only need it for two months of the year."
The Car Next Door platform, like most gig economy systems, rely on lenders and borrowers rating each other to build up reputation.
"The Car Next Door community is fantastic, borrowers and lenders alike. It's kind of like Airbnb – there's definitely a mutual respect there," Baynes previously told Yahoo Finance.
For Jones, who has been a member for three years, the sustainability benefits from sharing cars can't be beaten.
"There are definitely places in Australia where I don't see how everyone can get around in their cars. If you're at Potts Point in Sydney, there's literally nowhere to park."
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