I enjoy busking occasionally, but have never made enough from it to be able to give up the day job. I never "con" passers-by, they're free to contribute or not as they see fit (and most of them don't, but what the heck!). And not all of them are friendly, and not all passing police-people are friendly, either...

I find the amount of takings depends on where you set up, how long you can stop for, the weather, the number of people about, and whether there are a lot of children (some people seem to balk at throwing pennies themselves, but are quite happy to have their children put pennies in the box). I normally busk fairly locally, so restrict myself as regards site.

However, I do have friends who make a fair living from busking, disappearing for several months at a time over to Europe, and coming back with at least as much, if not more, money than they went over with. I'm told France and Switzerland are good for busking.

Joan