Ryazan Residents Earn Money by Clearing Snow Themselves
It is known that every misfortune is also an opportunity to earn money. Many Ryazan residents thought so and decided that since the city«s municipal services are failing to clear snow from courtyards and house roofs, they would gladly do it themselves and even earn money. We studied the local market and found out how much one can earn during snowfalls by buying a shovel.
If you go to a free classified ads website, you won«t find a uniform price for snow removal services. Some write that they clean for 100 rubles (about $1 at current rates), others for a thousand rubles (about $11 at current rates). But we understand that each case is individual and much depends on the volume of work, the time it will take to clear, the object, and so on.
But when it comes to snow removal with special equipment, the rates are relatively standard. An hour of work for a backhoe loader costs on average from 2,500 rubles to 3,500 rubles (about $28 to $39 at current rates). The same goes for cleaning with a tractor or snow removal with a truck. Such services are ordered by large organizations, paid parking lots, or management companies (if they clean courtyards from snow, which, unfortunately, does not always happen). From the earnings, one must subtract taxes, fuel costs, depreciation of the equipment, and such work is mostly done by organizations.
And how much can one «make» just by buying a shovel?
«Yesterday there were two orders»
Andrei has been involved in snow removal for six or seven years, he has a formed team, and he specializes in clearing snow and ice from roofs. According to him, the customers are mainly private clients.
«Mostly, these are roofs with a slight slope where the snow load is already critical. Often, orders come to clear balconies of five-story or nine-story buildings from the Khrushchev-era construction. And shops, where, as you understand, there are many people, high traffic, and large icicles hang. Budget organizations are sometimes involved: schools, kindergartens, where it»s also dangerous to knock off cornices. Separate contracts are signed with them,« Andrei said.
The number of orders, of course, depends on the weather.
«Today (the conversation took place on Friday, January 30 after a heavy snowfall that hit Ryazan on January 29. — Ed.) so far none. Yesterday there were two orders. Otherwise, usually from one to three orders,» says Andrei.
One can earn money from snow removal, but the Ryazan resident does not consider it big money. «As a foreman, I probably earn about a hundred thousand rubles a month (about $1,100 at current rates). I think that»s not much,« he noted.
«20,000 a day»
In Daniil«s ad, it says that he removes snow for 399 rubles (about $4 at current rates). Apparently, the number is just to attract attention, because during the conversation, completely different figures emerged. Daniil writes that he not only cleans snow manually but can even sprinkle sand on paths, remove icicles, and so on. But, according to him, the main part of the orders is roofs.
«Now there are orders, but it all depends on the amount of snow. Snow falls – orders come, no snow – fewer orders. Today so far none. Yesterday there was an order, calls come in, but we rarely agree on terms. Someone is not satisfied with something, something doesn»t suit them. They look for more favorable offers for themselves,« says the Ryazan resident.
According to him, he has been cleaning snow for not the first year and noticed that this season there have been many orders specifically for roofs.
One can earn decently, according to Daniil, but orders are not always available. The price of removal depends on the volume of work. An average order costs around 7,000 rubles (about $78 at current rates), there are small orders for one or two thousand rubles (about $11 to $22 at current rates).
«If, roughly speaking, you work every day and every day you have orders, you can earn well. For the entire season, I can»t say, but in a day, you can earn from ten thousand up to conditionally twenty and thirty thousand rubles. On average, 10,000 to 20,000 rubles a day (about $111 to $222 at current rates), if there are orders, one can earn,« explains the Ryazan resident.
In Alexander«s ad, it says that he cleans snow for 250 rubles (about $3 at current rates). Per hour or per object, it»s unclear. He himself said that in the current snowfalls, he usually has two or three orders a day. The Ryazan resident takes on any work: courtyards, sidewalks, but, like others, the main part of the orders is roofs.
On average, snow removal «from Alexander» will cost the customer 5,000 rubles (about $56 at current rates). Per month, according to him, he can earn up to 50,000 rubles (about $556 at current rates).
Dig Out the Car
The most unusual of the ads we found is snow removal for cars. Ryazan resident Victoria writes that she will clean a car for 2,500 rubles (about $28 at current rates).
«Our specialists will promptly arrive at the location and professionally perform the work regardless of the amount of precipitation and the degree of snow cover on the vehicle. The service is available around the clock, in any weather and under any road conditions,» says the service description.
Unfortunately, Victoria refused to tell YA62.RU journalists about her small «business,» and the number of people willing to dig out a car for money with someone else«s hands remains a mystery for now.
However, judging by the fact that the market for car «digging out» services is not too extensive, Ryazan residents are managing it on their own for now.
