DoorDash Bicycle Cities

There isn’t an official list of DoorDash bicycle cities, but in general, you can deliver DoorDash on a bike anywhere that the company operates. While you can generally deliver on a bike in any market, you might not be able to sign up as a bike Dasher depending on where you are located. However, even if you can’t sign up as a biker, you can always sign up as a driver and then change your vehicle to a bike (or ebike) within the Dasher app.

In this post, we’ll look at what the DoorDash bicycle cities are, how to sign up as a biker even if you aren’t in a DoorDash bicycle city, and how to make biking for DoorDash work for you.

As I noted at the beginning of this post, DoorDash doesn’t have an official list of bicycle cities. On its website, DoorDash says that your vehicle can be “Any car, scooter, or bicycle (in select cities).” This language means that delivering by bike isn’t available in every market in which DoorDash operates.

For the most part, you can expect that most large cities will allow you to sign up to be a Dasher using a bike. I work in Minneapolis, which is a mid-sized city with a population of about 400,000 people. When I first signed up as a Dasher back in 2016, I was able to sign up to deliver by bike with no issues.

Given that I was able to sign up to deliver by bike in Minneapolis, you can expect that other major cities will also allow you to sign up to Dash via bike, especially large, dense cities. On the East Coast, that would include cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC. In the Midwest, I’d be looking at cities like Chicago and Minneapolis. In the South, cities like Miami and Atlanta should let you deliver by bike. Over in the Mountain states, a city like Denver would be good. And on the West Coast, cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle will allow you to Dash via bike.

Since DoorDash doesn’t have a publicly available list of cities where you can deliver by bike, the only way you’ll know for sure whether you can deliver by bike in your market is to sign up and see if you can sign up as a biker. If you can, great! But even if you can’t, there are still ways to get around it.

One other thing to note is that, sometimes, DoorDash will limit the number of bike Dashers in each market. So, even if your city does allow Dashers to sign up as bikers, you might not be able to sign up until DoorDash reopens signups for bike Dashers.

How To Deliver By Bike Even If Your City Isn’t A DoorDash Bicycle City

If you want to Dash by bike but live in a market that doesn’t offer bike delivery as an option, there’s still a way to make it so you can Dash using a bike.

Your first step is to sign up to Dash using a car. The downside of this is you’ll need to submit your vehicle and insurance information, as well as go through a background check of your driving record. Most people won’t have an issue with this, but you could have problems if you don’t have a car or insurance, or if you have issues with your driving record. Unfortunately, if you do have something that makes it impossible for you to sign up to deliver by car, then you’ll have to try another strategy.

Once you’re signed up as a Dasher, you can change your vehicle in the Dasher app. The nice thing is that DoorDash makes it very easy to switch between different vehicles. Most of the time, you should be able to switch to a bike or ebike without any issue, even if your city doesn’t offer biking as an option.

If you aren’t able to switch to a bike or ebike in the Dasher app, what I would do is continue logging into the Dasher app with a car as my vehicle, but just do my deliveries using a bike. You’ll have to be strategic here, however, as DoorDash sends Dashers different orders depending on the type of vehicle they are using. If you’re signed up to deliver in a car, you’ll have to reject orders that are going too far away. This shouldn’t be a problem since you can see where orders are going before you accept them.

The other potential way to sign up as a bike Dasher even if your market doesn’t offer the option is to sign up as a Dasher in a different city. While I haven’t done this myself, you could theoretically sign up as a bike Dasher in a larger city and then simply do all of your deliveries in your market. You don’t need to contact DoorDash to switch markets either, so signing up to deliver in one city and then working in a different city shouldn’t be a problem.

How To Make Delivering By Bike Work For You

Delivering by bike requires being a bit more strategic compared to using a car. That’s because distances will matter a lot more when delivering by bike. On a bike, I prefer aiming for shorter distances, even if the order pays less. I think bikes have a speed advantage when you’re traveling shorter distances when compared to a car. The speed advantage to a car really only applies once you’re traveling more than a few miles.

Of course, bikes also have a massive advantage when working in dense, busy areas since bikes don’t have to deal with traffic or parking. The nice thing is that the busiest areas for food delivery also tend to be in busy, dense areas of cities, so you get a good advantage when you opt to deliver by bike.

If you can, getting an ebike to do your DoorDash deliveries is even better. Here’s a speech I gave at a conference about why ebikes can be the best investment you ever make.

The other big thing you’ll want to think about when bike Dashing is logistics. Specifically, you’ll need to think about how you’ll carry orders. The easiest way is to get a bike with a cargo rack (either a front or rear rack). With that, you can attach a basket and then put orders into the basket.

If you don’t have any cargo capacity on your bike, another option is to get a food delivery backpack. This is what most people do and what I often do when I’m bike Dashing. You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a bike delivery backpack, but make sure that whatever you do get has good carrying capacity and space to hold drinks securely in the bag. Here’s a list of some of the best delivery backpacks you can find on Amazon.

Finally, one thing I like to point out to people is that you can Dash in any city that DoorDash operates in. Whenever I visit a new city, I almost always turn on my DoorDash app and try to do a few deliveries. Most cities have a bike share system, so I’ll usually use that to get around. It’s a great way to explore a new city and make a bit of money at the same time!

Final Thoughts

DoorDash is my favorite side hustle – made even better by the fact that I can Dash using a bike. There are a lot of reasons why I think bike Dashing is better than using a car. If you live in one of the DoorDash bicycle cities, I think signing up to deliver via bike is the way to go.

And if you live in a city where biking isn’t an option, try signing up as a car and then switching over to bike (or just do your deliveries on a bike anyway).

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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.