Sometimes I’m amazed at the creativity of some people who earn a good living filling needs that anyone could do. I was at a gathering today when I struck up a conversation with a man who described his job as a “commute helper.”

“OK, what exactly is a commute helper?” I asked

“I help people have a smooth and quick commute,” he replied.

“How do you do that?” I asked

“I sit in their car, ” he said with a smile.

This is what happened. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the commutes in certain sections are absolutely horrendous. This guy was sitting in a traffic jam one morning watching all the people in the carpool lane drive by while he was moving at snail’s pace. He decided that he needed to get someone else in his car so that he could get to work in a timely manner using the carpool lane, and at first thought that his only option was to start a carpool.

As he thought about it more, however, he thought that he (as in himself and his body) was actually a valuable commodity and he could sell himself and that is exactly what he did. He walked to the freeway entrance and held up a sign that said,

“Traffic is bad. Spend 2 hours or pay me $10 and get there in 20 minutes”

He said the first day he was picked up within 15 minutes. When he got dropped off, he walked to the other side, held up his sign and got paid to go back the other way too. On a typical day he makes 2 to 3 round trips during the morning commute rush hour and 3 - 5 round trips during the evening rush hour. If there is an accident and traffic is really slow, his price doubles. He clears $100 - $300 a day sitting in a car so others can get to work and home faster!

I just had to laugh when I heard his explanation and how brilliantly simple it was.

Personal Finance Advice » Blog Archive » Creative Job - Commute Helper

I have to say that this was one of the more interesting “side jobs” I’ve heard of. I know that the major shippers in the Bay Area here hire someone to act as a passenger to do this exact same thing, but they’re generally termed “helpers.” Pretty funny how the guy came up with it, and he must live near an area with major problems… the only time the Napa Valley has bad traffic on the weekends (and certain times of the day) when tourists are thick and add to the traffic…

Ooo look at those grapevines… slow down so I don’t miss any of them… isn’t it pretty? I can’t wait to drink some more wine… why are people flipping me off?