We’re living in the glorious age of “the sharing economy”: ride sharing, home sharing, car sharing. We can only assume pet and baby sharing are soon to come. So, it seems fitting that someone figured out a way to capitalize on road trip sharing as well.
It’s summer and, chances are, you’ve already made plans to road trip somewhere. Maybe you’ll be driving the length of California’s PCH, Virginia’s Skyline Drive, or Colorado’s stunning Million Dollar Highway. The point is, you’re hitting the road, spending gas and wear & tear on your car. So, why not get paid for it?
That’s exactly what the genius minds behind the Roadie app thought. It’s a bit too easy to label every new app as “the Uber of [fill-in-the-blank],” but Roadie really is the Uber of sending stuff. It’s an on-demand, peer-to-peer service that allows travelers who are already heading somewhere to courier someone else’s packages to their final destination.
The premise is surprisingly simple:
- A Sender posts a “gig”: this is any package or shipment that needs to get from A to B. It could be a piece of jewelry, a bike, or a piano.
- Drivers review available gigs that align with their upcoming travel plans. They then post offers — including availability and pricing — for Senders to review. An embedded rating system also provides Senders with a way to easily screen Drivers based on past ratings and experience.
- Once both sides agree on a time and price, the gig is accepted and confirmed.
- The Driver then picks up the shipment at the agreed upon time and delivers it door to door (could be in the next town or across the country) for the Sender.
- Finally, the Driver gets paid (up to $600 per gig).
The app already has drivers in all 50 states, so the entire United States is essentially covered. Gigs can also be tracked every step of the way in real-time via the Roadie app. Roadie automatically provides $500 of insurance for every gig. For especially valuable shipments, Senders can opt for up to $10,000 in added insurance via UPS Capital.
The free Roadie app is available to download now via Apple’s App Store and for Google Play.
