DoorDash Bike Delivery – How It Works And Why You Should Do It

DoorDash bike delivery is, without a doubt, my favorite way to earn extra income. I’ve been Dashing by bike for a long time now – over 6 years at this point. And the entire time I’ve Dashed for DoorDash, I’ve always done it using a bike. 

When I first started Dashing, I completed all my deliveries using a regular bike. It worked out well – I got exercise, was able to enjoy time outside, and got to ride around and explore the city. A few years ago, I transitioned to doing all my deliveries using ebikes and electric scooters. It has dramatically increased my efficiency. And I’m having so much fun doing my deliveries. 

In this post, I want to go over the benefits of doing DoorDash on a bike, explain how it works, and discuss some of the strategies I use to maximize my earnings. If you need to earn extra income, improve your health, and live in a city where Dashing by bike makes sense, DoorDash bike delivery is something you should consider doing.

Why Do DoorDash Bike Delivery? 

Over the years that I’ve delivered with DoorDash in my city (I live in Minneapolis), I’ve run into a lot of delivery people. Of all the people I’ve seen though, I’ve rarely seen anyone delivering via bike. Indeed, I think I’m one of the few people who deliver by bike here in Minneapolis (despite Minneapolis consistently being ranked one of the best biking cities in the United States). 

In my opinion, a bike is the best vehicle to use when doing deliveries, especially if you live in a city. Doing DoorDash by ebike or electric scooter is even better. Here’s why Dashing by ebike is the way I recommend Dashing:

The Pros Of DoorDash Bike Delivery

Improved Health. A major negative aspect of driving is that it’s bad for your health. Not only is it stressful to drive, but it’s also a passive form of transportation that doesn’t require you to use any of your own energy.  

By contrast, doing deliveries on a bike improves your health. Even an ebike – which wouldn’t seem like it requires a lot of energy – still comes with health benefits for riders. The mere fact you’re moving will improve your health.

Getting paid while I’m getting exercise (even if it’s only a little bit of exercise) is something that can’t be beat. If you factor in the value of the health benefits from biking, you’re earning even more than just what you make from deliveries.

Low Operating Costs. One of the huge benefits of doing DoorDash bike delivery is that it reduces your operating costs. Bike maintenance is generally cheap – the cost to fix tires, adjust brakes, etc isn’t much. Most of my maintenance comes from annual bike tune-ups, which usually cost me $100 to $200. Over a year, I can spend a few hundred bucks to maintain my bike. This is in contrast to using a car, where repairs and maintenance are usually costly, not to mention paying for gas (that’s why if you’re going to use a car for DoorDash, you need to use small, fuel-efficient cars).

The only major cost with a bike is the upfront cost of the bike (assuming, you don’t already have one). Even then, the cost of a bike is far less than a car. Indeed, even if you spend $1,000 to $1,500 on an ebike, you can easily earn the money back from doing DoorDash deliveries. Indeed, a bike could easily be worth $1 million or more if you’re consistent and you give yourself enough time to see your money grow (see: Becoming A Millionaire With The $30 A Day Retirement Strategy). 

You Don’t Have To Deal With Parking Or Traffic. One of the more frustrating things about using a car to do deliveries is having to deal with parking or traffic. When you think about it, cars are not a good way to do deliveries. Most restaurants are located in dense areas where parking and traffic are going to be a problem. At the same time, the busiest places will usually be those downtown areas that aren’t well-suited to cars.

On a bike, I never have to think about parking or traffic. I can easily pull up in front of restaurants and walk right inside. When delivering to downtown apartments, I’m also able to easily pull up to the door and not worry about parking. 

Most people think that bikes have a speed disadvantage compared to cars, but I don’t think this is true or is at least usually overstated. The fact is, in a city, most cars simply can’t move that fast. I’m convinced that I move faster on a bike than I would in a car in most places in the city.

Reduces Pollution By Removing A Car From The Road. While not a direct benefit for you as a Dasher, doing DoorDash bike delivery is a benefit for everyone because it removes another car from the road. When someone orders food with DoorDash, that order is getting delivered by someone. If you’re delivering it, it’s getting to the customer with a bike, which reduces pollution and puts less wear and tear on the road.

The Negatives Of DoorDash Bike Delivery

Of course, there are some negatives to think about when doing DoorDash bike delivery. I think the positives outweigh the negatives, but it’s worth mentioning the downsides here: 

Weather Can Be A Problem. One of the main issues with doing DoorDash on a bike is that you have to deal with the weather. I live in Minnesota, which means for several months, I’m doing deliveries in below-freezing temperatures. Cars, on the other hand, don’t have to deal with weather issues to the same extent as bikes.

You Can’t Cover Long Distances. I believe completing shorter orders that pay less is usually better than doing long-distance orders that offer a high payout. That being said, if you’re on a bike, you don’t have the option of completing long-distance orders, so someone in a car has the advantage of being able to accept higher-paying orders.

It Can Be More Difficult To Carry Orders. I often use a delivery backpack to carry my orders, although these days, I often use my Urban Arrow as my delivery vehicle. Other people might use a trailer or another type of cargo bike.

For the most part, I can carry anything. But even with my delivery equipment, I can still have trouble carrying certain orders (coffee, in particular, is the most difficult thing for me to carry). If I were using a car, it’d be easier for me to accept these delivery requests.

Signing Up To Do DoorDash Bike Delivery 

The good thing about DoorDash bike delivery is that the requirements to do it are fairly minimal. Since you aren’t using a car, you don’t need insurance. 

Here are the requirements to do DoorDash bike delivery: 

• At least 18 years old
• Have a US-issued driver’s license or state ID
• When signing up, be sure to choose ‘Delivery by bicycle or foot’ under transportation method.

The main thing you need for DoorDash bike delivery is a valid ID. A driver’s license works fine. If you don’t have a driver’s license, you’ll need to use a state ID. You’ll also need to pass a background check, which typically takes 3-5 days to complete. 

Once you’ve set up your Dasher account and passed your background check, you’ll be able to log into your Dasher account and start doing deliveries on your bike. To get started, log into your account, hit the “Dash Now” button, then wait for orders to come your way. 

You can change your vehicle in the Dasher app between bike or ebike. I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes to change your vehicle type if you’re Dashing with an ebike. I personally haven’t noticed much a difference between setting my vehicle as an ebike vs a regular bike.

DoorDash Bike Delivery Distances 

A question people often have about DoorDash bike delivery is how far are the DoorDash bike delivery distances? When you’re doing DoorDash on a bike, distances are going to matter a lot more compared to doing DoorDash with a car. 

DoorDash recognizes this. When you select to deliver with a bike, you’ll get shorter delivery requests. For the most part, orders will stay within a few miles of your location. I find that the vast majority of my orders are between 1 and 3 miles. I typically try to only accept orders that are within the 1-2 mile range, which I can typically cover in 6-12 minutes. So long as you’re working in a dense area, you shouldn’t have a problem getting these shorter orders. 

On occasion, you will see orders that are far away. If you do get orders that are too far to handle on a bike, you should reject those orders. While you might be tempted to accept high-paying orders that are traveling long distances, I find it’s usually better to wait for shorter-distance orders that pay less.

I’ll go into more detail in the next section about why I think aiming for volume is an important strategy for DoorDash.

DoorDash Bike Delivery Tips And Strategies 

If you want to maximize your DoorDash earnings, you need to use the right strategies. Here are the important tips and strategies you can use to earn the most from DoorDash.

My Suggested Bike Delivery Equipment 

You don’t need much equipment if you’re doing DoorDash with a car, but if you’re doing deliveries with a bike, you need to use the right equipment. Here’s what I recommend: 

• Food Delivery Backpack. This is a must-have piece of equipment if you’re doing deliveries with a bike. I use an Uber Eats delivery backpack that I bought from Uber Eats a few years ago when it was on sale. Unfortunately, Uber no longer makes this bag, but you can find some good delivery backpack options on Amazon. Here’s a list of some of the best delivery backpacks I’ve found.

• Phone Mount. I highly recommend a good phone mount so you can keep your phone easily accessible while you’re riding. My favorite option is the Quad Lock, which is a special mount that twists on and off easily. It’s a bit more expensive and requires a special phone case, but it’s without a doubt the best phone mount I’ve ever used. Getting the Quad Lock was a total game-changer.
• Portable Phone Charger. The Dasher app uses a lot of battery power since it’s tracking your location. If you’re going to be doing deliveries for an extended period, you should have a charger so you can get some extra juice when needed. In my experience, Anker makes excellent portable chargers. I have several Anker chargers that I keep with me when I’m Dashing.
• A Decent Bike Lock. I usually don’t need to lock my bike up, but I’d still recommend carrying a bike lock so you can lock up your bike when needed. The only times I need to lock my bike up are if I’m going into a restaurant where I can’t see my bike from the inside or if I have to do a delivery to an apartment building that won’t let me bring my bike in. Since you’re going to be leaving your bike for only a few minutes, you don’t need a really good bike lock – just one that will deter someone from running off with your bike while you’re gone. Abus and Kryptonite make the best bike locks, so I highly recommend a lock from those brands.

Using Ebikes and Scooters For DoorDash Bike Delivery 

The biggest change I’ve made to my DoorDash bike delivery experience has been using ebikes and scooters to do deliveries. An ebike is the best thing I’ve ever bought and it’s a complete game-changer when it comes to what you can do with a bike. I gave a speech about ebikes at EconoMe even talking about the huge benefits of ebikes.

What makes an ebike so amazing is that you get all the advantages of a bike, but also get basically the same speed as a car when riding around in a city. On my ebike or scooter, I’m able to travel 18-25mph depending on which ebike I’m using. If you’re working in a dense downtown area, that’s probably faster than the average speed you can move in a car 

You then get all the benefits of lower operating and maintenance costs, not having to deal with parking, and no negative environmental externalities. 

Ebikes and scooters are a great investment if you’re thinking of getting one to do DoorDash with. An entry-level ebike or scooter will cost $1,000 to $1,500, and while that’s not cheap, it’s also not so much that you can’t earn your money back quickly. For example, if you spend $1,000 on an ebike and make $500 per week from DoorDash (which is not difficult to do), you’ll pay back your ebike costs in a couple of weeks. And that’s only from making about $33 per day.

Volume Matters More When You’re On A Bike 

There’s an ongoing debate in the delivery world about whether it’s better to accept higher-paying orders that take longer to complete or lower-paying orders that you can complete faster. 

I opt to go for lower-paying orders that I can complete faster. When you’re on a bike, most of your delivery requests will be fairly short. And you’ll find that, with experience, it’s better to aim for volume – i.e. completing as many orders as you can in a short time, rather than looking for a few longer-distance, higher-paying orders that take you longer to complete.

Multi-App To Avoid Slow Periods

The absolute most important thing to do when doing DoorDash bike delivery (or any sort of food delivery) is to multi-app. This is when you sign up and work for multiple food delivery apps at the same time. 

Anytime I do DoorDash, I also turn on Uber Eats and Grubhub.  I then try to accept multiple orders from each app all going in similar directions. By doing this, I’m able to complete more deliveries and earn more money.  

Multi-apping is a skill that you’ll get better at with time. When you’re starting out, be conservative with how you multi-app. With practice, you’ll get better at it.

Frequently Asked Questions About DoorDash Bike Delivery 

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about DoorDash bike delivery. 

1. How long does it take to get approved for DoorDash bike delivery? 

You can start doing deliveries once you pass your background check. This generally takes 3-5 business days to complete. If it takes longer than a week, get in touch with DoorDash support to find out what is happening.

2. How to change DoorDash from car to bike? 

This is very easy to do with DoorDash. In the Dasher app, you can change your delivery mode immediately from the main screen. Note that you can switch between a bicycle or an ebike when selecting your vehicle.

3. How to block bike deliveries on DoorDash?

Customers can’t block bike deliveries on DoorDash. If you do have a problem with your order (like you think it took too long to get to you), contact DoorDash support and they’ll likely give you a refund or offer DoorDash credit to compensate you. I will say that in my experience, I can get food to people on my ebike or scooter faster than most cars can. 

4. Can I DoorDash In Another State? 

One of the great things about DoorDash is that you can do it anywhere that DoorDash operates in (with some exceptions). When I travel, I always turn on my DoorDash app and see if I can get any good deliveries. It gives me a way to explore a new city, have some fun, and make some extra money. Check out this post for more info about how to DoorDash in another state.

Final Thoughts 

DoorDash has always been my favorite side hustle, especially because I can do it on a bike. I love biking, so the fact that I can get paid to do something I love is a bonus.

For me, doing DoorDash bike delivery also turns my life into a game of sorts. I get to explore the world and when I get an order, it’s like I have a little mission to complete. 

With the right strategies, DoorDash bike delivery can be very profitable – even more profitable than doing it with a car since I can still get the same number of orders and avoid all the costs that come with using a car. 

If you found this info helpful and are looking for more info, I’ve written some in-depth posts about DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub that are worth checking out. You can find links to those posts below:  

• DoorDash Dasher: What It’s Like Delivering For DoorDash
• Uber Eats Driver: Delivering For Uber Eats
• Grubhub Delivery Driver – What It’s Like Delivering For Grubhub
• The Ultimate Guide To Uber Eats Bike Delivery
• Grubhub Bike Delivery – How It Works And Why You Should Do It

I hope this info about DoorDash bike delivery was helpful. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below.