Grubhub Bike Delivery - How It Works And Why You Should Do It

Doing Grubhub using a bike is one of the best ways to earn extra income – it’s why Grubhub bike delivery is the way I tell most people to do Grubhub. Most people will opt to do Grubhub using a car. Doing your deliveries by bike, in my opinion, is the better way to do it.

But how do you sign up for Grubhub bike delivery? In contrast to other food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, signing up to do Grubhub on a bike is a bit more difficult. That’s because, unlike other food delivery apps, Grubhub limits bike delivery to only a select few markets. It’s a shame they do this, but that’s how it is.

Fortunately, there are ways around this limitation. In this post, we’ll go over how Grubhub bike delivery works and how to sign up for it even if you live in a market where Grubhub doesn’t offer bike delivery. We’ll also go through some of the advantages of doing Grubhub with a bike.

What Is Grubhub Bike Delivery?

Grubhub is a food delivery service that allows customers to order food from their favorite restaurants and have it delivered to their door. Unlike DoorDash and Uber Eats, Grubhub is actually a fairly old company, first founded in 2004 (before the rise of smartphones). At one point, Grubhub was the largest food delivery service in the United States, but it has since found itself falling behind DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Grubhub utilizes independent contractors to deliver orders, so anyone can sign up and deliver for Grubhub so long as they can pass the background check, don’t have any major issues in their background report, and have a smartphone and access to a vehicle.

Grubhub bike delivery, meanwhile, is exactly as it sounds. Rather than delivering food using a car, you deliver food for Grubhub using a bike. If you’re signed up for bike delivery, you’ll receive orders from Grubhub that are tailored towards bikers. The main thing is that they’ll generally be a shorter distance than normal car deliveries.

There is one caveat, however. Grubhub does not offer bike delivery in most markets it operates in. Indeed, on Grubhub’s website, they state that “currently bicycle and scooter deliveries are only supported in certain areas – usually large cities like NYC and San Francisco.” Meanwhile, Grubhub states that they allow car and moped deliveries in all markets.

In practice, most people will only be able to sign up to deliver by bike in New York and San Francisco. I believe you may be able to sign up for bike delivery in Chicago as well. But in most cities, bike delivery isn’t going to be an option. I don’t know why Grubhub is so intent on people using cars to do their deliveries, but that’s how they work.

How To Do Grubhub Bike Delivery Even If It’s Not Available

Fortunately, even if Grubhub doesn’t offer bike delivery in your market, it’s likely you can still deliver using a bike. That’s how I do it in my home market.

To deliver using a bike in a market that doesn’t offer bike delivery, you’ll first need to sign up to deliver using a car. Unfortunately, this means you’ll need to have a car, driver’s license, and valid insurance. Grubhub makes you upload this information when you apply, so there’s no way around that.

Assuming you have a car, license, and insurance, you’ll be able to get signed up to do Grubhub in a car. Then, instead of using your car, you’ll simply use your bike to do deliveries. Grubhub doesn’t check to make sure you’re doing your deliveries in a car, so even though you’ll be signed up to do deliveries in a car, you can still do your deliveries with a bike.

I’ve been delivering for Grubhub for years and even though I’m signed up to do deliveries in a car, I’ve never once done a delivery in my car. I always use my bike.

You will have to be strategic about the orders you accept. Since you’ll be signed up for car delivery, Grubhub may send you orders that are going too far away. You’ll need to reject all of the orders that can’t be reasonably completed with a bike and only accept shorter-distance orders. This isn’t hard to do, especially if you know your market well.

Advantages Of Grubhub Bike Delivery

Biking has many advantages compared to using a car to do Grubhub. Here are four advantages that come from biking that you can’t get from driving.

You Get Exercise. Doing deliveries in a car is a sedentary activity and not very healthy for you. If you’re like most people, you probably spend a lot of your day sitting already. Being able to bike around and get some exercise in my spare time is a great way to stay in shape. Getting paid to essentially exercise is not bad at all – and you can’t get that with a car.
Low Expenses. The great thing about biking is that you’ll dramatically reduce your overhead expenses. When you’re doing deliveries using your bike, you don’t have to worry about paying for gas or putting miles on your car. The cost to maintain a bike for an entire year is minimal. Cars, meanwhile, are expensive vehicles that cost you more and more each time you drive them.
You Don’t Have To Worry About Finding Parking. Anyone who has done deliveries in a car knows that it’s a massive pain to find parking in some areas. This makes sense when you think about it. Restaurants tend to be located in busy areas that aren’t particularly friendly to cars. A lot of customers also live in big apartment buildings that don’t have much parking. I love being able to just bike up to the restaurant or customer and walk right in without having to deal with parking.
You’ll Avoid Getting Stuck In Traffic. Traffic is a huge hassle for most people. Worse yet, food delivery tends to coincide with times when traffic is the worst. The delivery rush tends to happen around dinner time, right when people happen to be on the road. But when you’re on a bike, you don’t have to worry about traffic. It’s an amazing feeling to fly past a long line of cars stuck in traffic.

Even better than using a regular bike is opting for an ebike or electric scooter. I do almost all of my deliveries using an ebike or scooter and it has dramatically improved my efficiency. Indeed, an ebike could be the best investment you ever make.

Using an ebike or scooter also gives you the best of all worlds. You won’t get tired. You can go as fast as a car can in most cities. And you won’t have to deal with parking, gas, traffic, or all the other costs and headaches that come with a car.

Final Thoughts

Grubhub bike delivery is an excellent way to earn extra money using your bike. It’s fun, better for the environment, and far more efficient than using a car.

Grubhub is annoying in that they don’t offer bike delivery in most markets. But it’s easy to get around it so long as you can qualify to sign up to deliver in a car.

I hope that information was helpful. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
Himiway Escape Bike – 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 Bike – 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.
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 $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock 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 stocks using Webull.
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.

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 ($500) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: AZ, AR, CA, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR, SD, TN, UT, WA, WI, WY. 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.
SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – 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.
Upgrade ($50) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $50 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on April 15, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before April 15th, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $50 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
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.
Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
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 ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 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 $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $500 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.
DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
Personal Capital. 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.