If you live in a large, dense city, one thing you might consider doing is DoorDash walking – that is, doing food delivery with DoorDash on foot. It’s not the most efficient way to do deliveries, but it is a possibility for someone who’s thinking of doing DoorDash and doesn’t have access – or doesn’t want to use – a vehicle.
Unfortunately, while DoorDash used to allow Dashers to sign up to deliver orders on foot, it seems that they have now gotten rid of that option. If you want to sign up for DoorDash, your choices are to deliver with a car, moped, motorcycle, bike, or ebike. Be aware that some markets may limit Dashers to signing up with a car only.
That being said, even though DoorDash doesn’t formally allow Dashers to deliver on foot, it’s still possible to do so. As long as you’re meeting the pickup and drop-off times, how you choose to get yourself from place to place is your business.
So, in this post, we’ll take a look at DoorDash walking works, what you need to do if you want to walk orders with DoorDash, and whether it’s worth it to do DoorDash on foot.
DoorDash Walking – How It Works
DoorDash used to allow Dashers to sign up specifically as walkers, although this was limited to a few large cities, New York City being the most obvious example.
Today, DoorDash no longer lists walking as an option. When you sign up to deliver for DoorDash, your choices are to use a car, motorcycle, moped, bike, or ebike. Signing up with a car, motorcycle, or moped will require you to have a driver’s license and vehicle insurance. Using a bike or ebike, on the other hand, does not require you to have insurance.
Since you can no longer sign up specifically as a walker, your best option if you want to walk is to sign up to deliver with a bike. Once you’ve filled out your application and passed your background check, you’ll be able to start delivering orders.
The most important thing if you’re going to walk orders is to carefully consider which orders you accept. If you’re logged in as a biker, DoorDash is going to send you orders that it thinks you can complete on a bike. You still need to meet the pick-up and drop-off times or else you risk getting a contract violation for arriving late to the restaurant or delivering the foot late, so you’ll have to accept orders that are nearby and going a short distance. This will limit the number of orders you can accept.
In general, I’d stick to orders going no more than a mile, and more likely, probably a half-mile would be safer. Walking a half-mile takes about 10 minutes. Walking a mile takes about 20 minutes. Those times should keep you within the pick-up and drop-off times.
What Do You Need To Be A DoorDash Walker?
If you’re going to walk orders with DoorDash, you don’t need any special equipment. DoorDash will send you the DoorDash activation kit, which comes with a delivery bag and a DoorDash red card. The red card is the only item from DoorDash that you need to start delivering (you can’t start delivering without an active red card).
That being said, I do recommend a few pieces of equipment to make your delivery experience easier. A delivery bag is a must. It’ll make it much easier to hold your food items. I’d recommend using the DoorDash delivery bag that they send you. It holds plenty of food and should do the job. Using a delivery backpack could also make for a more comfortable experience.
A good pair of walking shoes is also critical. If you’re walking, you need to be comfortable and you don’t want to walk around a city in uncomfortable shoes. I’d use running shoes probably.
Finally, it’s a good idea to get a transit card or something that lets you use the mass transit in your city. Being able to hop on the subway or a bus can save you a lot of time when you’re walking orders. I’ve walked orders a few times when I’ve visited New York, and being able to hop on the subway has definitely saved me time.
The first two items are really all you need if you want to walk orders, with a transit pass a good item to consider as well. But as long as you have a delivery bag (the DoorDash one will do) and good shoes, you should be fine.
Is Walking DoorDash Orders Worth It?
The obvious advantage of walking deliveries is that you don’t need a vehicle and you won’t have to deal with traffic or parking.
DoorDash walking is also useful if you work in an office and want to make a few bucks during your lunch break. Even if you’re in work clothes, you can still walk around and deliver an order or two during your lunch break without getting dirty or breaking a sweat. It’s a nice way to get some steps in and make a few extra bucks too.
The other time I consider walking DoorDash orders is if I’m traveling and don’t have access to a bike or car. One of the big advantages of DoorDash is that you can deliver for DoorDash in any state. When I’m traveling, I like to turn on the DoorDash app and see if I can get any decent orders. It allows me to explore a new city and get paid while I do it!
With all that being said, walking orders isn’t the best way to do DoorDash, and the only reason I’d do DoorDash as a walker is if I simply wanted to earn a little bit of extra money or I just wanted to get some exercise and fresh air and get paid while I do it. I see DoorDash walking as something to do mainly for fun, rather than as something to do for money.
If you’re looking to make real money from DoorDash, I highly recommend getting a bike, ebike, or electric scooter. These vehicles aren’t that expensive and you’ll earn your money back quickly. The way I see it, buying an ebike or electric scooter to do food delivery with can be treated as an investment – buy a solid ebike or scooter and use it to do deliveries. You’ll make all of your money back if you use the right delivery strategies.
Another Potential Strategy – Delivering DoorDash Orders While Running
One strategy that I have thought about is delivering DoorDash orders and running them to customers. When you think about it, a lot of people run for exercise. Some people run dozens of miles per week. My brother-in-law, for example, runs 10 miles or more every single day.
If you wanted to earn extra money while running and getting exercise, you could sign up to deliver for DoorDash on a bike, then run orders instead of biking or walking them. You’ll get a ton of exercise and get paid while you’re doing it.
You’ll still want to be careful about the orders you accept, but if you run orders, you’ll be able to cover more distance and probably be able to accept more orders since you’ll be able to pick them up and drop them off faster. For example, if you run a 10-minute mile (which isn’t too difficult for most reasonably fit people), you can cover 1 mile in 10 minutes (that’s a running pace of 6 mph). Being able to cover a mile in 10 minutes or so should be plenty of time to complete most shorter deliveries.
So, if you want to deliver without any vehicle and instead only use your feet, walking is fine but you’ll have to stick to very short orders. If you want to give yourself more options, try running your DoorDash orders. You’ll be able to accept more deliveries and get good exercise as well.
Final Thoughts
DoorDash walking is an interesting option that might work for you, depending on where you live. You can make a bit of extra money doing it this way, but I don’t recommend it as anything more than a side hustle or fun thing you do. If you can, I highly recommend getting a bike. It’ll be much better (and you may have more fun biking around your city too).
Some people online have shared videos of themselves walking orders on DoorDash. They’re pretty entertaining videos, so take a look and see how they do it and if it’s something you want to try out too.
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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.
I like to do walking doordash cuz I need the extra money for my kid