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.
I like to do walking doordash cuz I need the extra money for my kid