Taxi work
Why the long run out of town is the worst job of the day
25.08.2026 · 5 min read
A run out of town pays for half the distance: the driver comes back empty. Over 76 km each way the driver keeps about 205 zł for two and a half hours and 152 km — roughly 56 zł an hour after fuel. Three city jobs in the same time come to about 117 zł an hour. The long run is worth taking when there is a return fare, when it starts at an airport, or when it is on your way home.
A long run out of town looks like luck. A big number on the screen, and a motorway is calmer than fighting through the centre. In money, it is usually the worst job of the day.
Where it goes wrong
Three reasons, and none is obvious until you do the sum.
The empty return. Eighty kilometres out and eighty back is 160 km of fuel and nearly three hours, and only half of it is paid. In a small town there will be no next job: the app is not looking for anybody there.
The driver's share falls with distance. The passenger's price rises with the kilometres faster than the rate offered to the driver. On the trip we took apart, Wrocław to Syców, the passenger paid 402.98 zł and the driver kept 204.72 zł — 50.8%. On a short urban job the share is usually higher.
Wear is counted in kilometres, not in złoty. Tyres, brakes, oil and the car itself are used up exactly the same on the unpaid half.
The numbers
The same route: 76 km, 45 minutes each way.
| Out of town | Three city jobs | |
|---|---|---|
| The driver received | 204.72 zł | ~210 zł |
| Distance | 152 km (with the return) | ~35 km |
| Time | ~2 h 30 min | ~1 h 40 min |
| Fuel (hybrid) | ~65 zł | ~15 zł |
| Net | ~140 zł | ~195 zł |
| Per hour | ~56 zł | ~117 zł |
Twice the difference — even though the long job looked four times bigger on the screen.
When the long run is worth it
It is not always bad. Three cases:
- There is a return fare. Sometimes the app finds a passenger going back, and the economics invert: the same 160 km are paid for twice.
- The airport. Traffic out of an airport is constant, so an empty return is unlikely.
- End of the shift and it is on your way. If you are driving home in that direction anyway, the "empty" return stops being empty.
What to do about it
Judge per kilometre, not per job. A useful rule: the fare divided by the kilometres including the return. A city job of 25 zł over 6 km is 4.2 zł/km. An out-of-town job of 205 zł over 152 km is 1.35 zł/km. The first is three times better.
Know your minimum rate per kilometre. Fuel, the rental and wear come to roughly 0.80–1.10 zł a kilometre in a hybrid. Anything under 1.50 zł/km, counting the return, is working for nothing.
Declining can beat a bad job. But carefully: the apps track your decline rate and lower your priority when it gets high. Decline deliberately, and not several in a row.
The point
A big number on the screen is not earnings — it is revenue for a large block of time and a large distance. Earnings are what is left after fuel, divided by the hours it took. By that measure a quiet motorway almost always loses to a busy city centre.
Frequently asked
Over 76 km each way, about 205 zł less the fuel for 152 km. Roughly 140 zł net for two and a half hours — 56 zł an hour.
The passenger's price rises with distance faster than the rate offered to the driver. The gap is not formally commission and never enters the commission statistics.
Sometimes, but not one after another: the apps track your decline rate and lower your priority when it climbs.
Divide the fare by the kilometres including the way back. Below 1.50 zł a kilometre you are working for nothing.