Last checked: 16 September 2026 · early access Season 1 build. Early-access numbers change between patches; the in-game vendor is the final word.
The money line nobody contests
While three teams brawl over the zones, the transport player earns quietly. The verified payouts for moving people and supply are among the best risk-adjusted returns in the game, and they do not require you to win the firefight — only to arrive.
How transport payouts are structured
| Job | Who pays | Base pay | Bonus conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ride to Hot Zone | Team / contract | $500–$1,000 per person | +$500 if rider survives |
| Rider scores after drop | Team / contract | — | +$750 per kill the rider gets |
| Pallet acquisition | You (cost) | −$400 | Paid back on delivery |
| Pallet delivery | Contract | $2,500 | Flat on success |
| Pallet used for FOB | Teammate build | +$1,800 | If teammate builds FOB from it |
| In-team taxi tip | Teammate directly | Variable | Not a fixed vendor rate [B] |
The pallet run is the standout: a $400 buy-in returns up to $4,700 when delivered and then built into a FOB. That is the highest verified return-on-spend in the brief, and it is logistics, not combat.
The Hot Zone transport bonus
Delivering a rider into the Hot Zone pays $500–$1,000 per person, then stacks: if the rider survives you get +$500, and if that rider scores a kill you get +$750 per kill. A single well-placed drop can therefore pay far more than a kill assist’s $800, and you never exposed yourself to the firefight. The rider carries the risk; you carry the fee.
Pilot versus driver
Ground logistics runs on the URAL ($35,000, Driving 3) or Dune Buggy ($25,000, Driving 8). Air logistics uses the Z20 Lakota ($35,000) or the Little Bird with cannon ($50,000), each needing its respective unlock. The Pilot track is one of the six XP tracks, though the brief does not list its specific unlocks, so we do not claim them. The free firing range lets you fly before you sink cash into an aircraft.
Pilot survival checklist
- Pre-flight check the spawn: is the landing zone hot or cold before you commit?
- Fly with a door gunner if you have the Little Bird; solo air is a fat target.
- Drop riders at the Hot Zone edge, not the centre, to keep the +$500 survival bonus likely.
- Keep fuel and a fallback LZ in mind; a downed pilot loses the life’s aircraft.
- Do not loiter over the zone — the fee is for the delivery, not the sightseeing.
- Bank the run’s cash before pushing another contract; dying with it unbought loses nothing, but unbought gear is gone.
The settlement curve still applies
Transport payouts scale with server population like everything else: per the brief, a ~10-player server pays almost nothing, ~45 players pays about 80 percent, and 60-plus pays full. A logistics player should favour fuller servers for the full rate, and remember surviving to match end refunds about 90 percent of carried gear value.
Clean-play warning
BULKHEAD’s 12 September 2026 stance is that cash-bug abuse and organised XP farming are punishable. Moving supplies and riders the normal way is the protected income — do not loop a transport bug for endless fees, or expect a reset or ban.
Reading server population for transport
Transport payouts obey the same population curve as every other income line. Per the brief, a server near 10 players pays almost nothing, about 45 players pays roughly 80 percent, and 60 or more pays the full rate. A logistics player should therefore prefer fuller servers, where the $500–$1,000 per-rider Hot Zone fee and the pallet run’s up-to-$4,700 return land at full value. On a thin server, the same driving earns a fraction, so treat quiet servers as practice runs for routes rather than as money-making shifts.
The human side: in-team tips
Beyond the contract rates, teammates tip each other in-team for taxi and helicopter rides, per the single-source brief. That is not a fixed vendor payout, so we do not quote a number for it; it is a social layer on top of the verified transport fees. A reliable pilot builds a reputation that earns those tips, which is why consistent, safe runs beat one flashy expensive flight when you are building the logistics line.
Where this connects
For the full price of the vehicles this role drives or flies, see vehicle and gear prices. To rank transport against revives and marks, the make money fast guide lines them up by risk. And to plan a logistics kit within the $10,000 start, the starter loadout page sets the early buy order.