To fully understand Roadie you have to know its history. Roadie started as a trucker gig. It was intended to offer extra cash to truck drivers who wanted to avoid “dead heading,”, which means driving umpteen miles with no load. Drivers would bid on gigs and were chosen based on the their proximity to the pickup, the direction in which they were headed and whether the load would fit in their truck.
Roadie changed in 2021 when UPS acquired the platform. UPS saw the opportunity to bring same-day delivery to its network and customers. Roadie ceased being a long-haul trucker gig. Gradually Roadie was able to add major national retailers to its network such as Home Depot, Tractor Supply, and Best Buy.
The way Roadie handles deliveries is frustrating as shit. You must put in a bid on the delivery and wait up to 30 minutes to see if you’re accepted. This is one of the features they didn’t change from when Roadie was a trucker app. Multiple truckers would bid on the same delivery, and Roadie’s algorithm would choose the best driver based on factors that no one truly understands.
While Roadie’s algorithm is a secret, their documentation does shed a light on a few factors that determine who gets the gigs. These factors include: proximity to the store, direction in which you are traveling, your “history” of taking gigs from the store or chain, your badges, and your customer ratings. In most driver groups you’ll see tons of posts from drivers who were sitting in the parking lot at a store and still didn’t get the gig. Proximity to the store is only one factor.
Unique to Roadie is its system of badges. There’s almost nothing in their documentation about the badges they award based on specific achievements. Most of us well-seasoned drivers with the most important badges will tell you that they do matter. The first badge most drivers get is the Rapid Roadie badge. To earn this badge you must complete 5 deliveries in less time than Roadie anticipated while earning at least 4 stars. The next badge most drivers get is the Rockstar badge. The receive the badge you must deliver at least 10 gigs for which you received a 5-star rating and have an average rating of at least 4.75. The Road Tripper badge can be earned for completing at least 10 gigs over 50 miles each while earning at least a 4-star rating. The Around Towner badge is earned by completing at least 25 deliveries under 10 miles each while earning at least a 4-star rating. There’s also the higher miler badge. The first is normally the 500 Miler. To earn the high miler badges you must complete the required number of miles while earning at least a 4-star rating. Most of us have the 5000 Miler badge. To date no one has seen or heard of a badge for driving more than 5000 miles. Learn more about Roadie Badges.
Roadie shows order sizes as Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Huge. Some of the Large, XL, and Huge gigs require a trailer. You’ll be delivering riding lawnmowers, 100-foot rolls of chain link fence, hay feeders, lumber up to 16 feet long, sliding patio doors, windows, and tubs just to mention a few of the more common items. Roadie will not accept your bid for a gig unless it will fit in your vehicle. Don’t bid on a delivery that has an item too large for your vehicle. When you cancel the order you won’t get paid a cent, and eventually you’ll be deactivated.
In 2023 UPS signed a new contract with the Teamsters Union. Shortly afterward UPS began laying off workers, closing distribution centers UPS, and buying out many of the senior drivers. It was the golden time to start maximizing its investment in Roadie. As a result, Roadie driver base pay has gone to crap. Extra Large deliveries that used to pay $80 and now $20. Small deliveries that used to pay $20 are now $8. Every full-time Roadie driver our Admins know has switched their focus to other gigs.
In addition to retail stores, Roadie also delivers for pharmacies. Pharmacy orders are one of those things you either love or hate. Some drivers are content earning $7.63 to driver two miles. Others consider the wait time to pick up the order as well as the customer needing to sign for the order. If you’re a short hauler, pharmacy orders may be for you. If you’re a long hauler with a daily goal over $200, Roadie pharmacy orders probably aren’t your best choice.
RoadieXD
In select cities, Roadie now offers batched deliveries through a separate program they call RoadieXD. XD stands for “Cross Dock.”. This is where our history of UPS comes into play. UPS is having Roadies drivers deliver UPS packages. If you live in an area where RoadieXD is available, this could be your bread and butter. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! XD batches are assigned based on the size of your vehicle. If you have a cargo van you’ll most assuredly see plenty of batches. There are also a decent number of batches for Large SUVs.
The biggest complaints from RoadieXD drivers are that they received packages going to addresses well outside the area and the labels won’t scan. If a label won’t scan you have to return the package to the Cross Dock where you picked up the batch. The label scanning issue is well known to UPS. UPS doesn’t put its own labels on the packages. The shippers print the labels. If the shipper used an ink jet printer, the label will probably be smudged. When packages are stacked on top of each other sometimes one of the bottom labels gets torn. If the label printer was low on ink the barcode is too light to scan, or the barcode is missing lines. If any of these happen then you won’t be able to scan the UPS label, and the package will have to go back to the Cross Dock.
The good news is that RoadieXD pays quite well. It’s not unusual to see a batch paying $230-$250. Even a small batch with only 40 stops might pay $70. It all depends on your mindset. Some drivers hate batches. They’re in the mindset of flying to the dropoff then racing back in hopes of snatching another delivery. If you can slow down your thinking and consistently make one delivery after another, then RoadieXD might be the perfect gig for you.
HOW DO YOU BECOME A ROADIE DRIVER?
You can sign up to become a Roadie driver on their website at Driver.Roadie.com/sign-up/.
You can also download the Roadie app directly from the App Store or Google Play and sign up directly in the app.
Once you’ve completed the Roadie application process you’ll have to wait for your background check. Roadie and most other gig platforms use a third-party service called Checker to run the background checks. If you want to check on the progress of your background check, you can visit their website at Candidate.Checkr.com.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU EARN DOING ROADIE?
The Roadie website states that you will earn an average of $12 per trip for local deliveries and even more on multi-stop batches. The reality is how much you earn earn depends entirely on your area, the size of your vehicle, and how many miles you’re willing to drive. Best Buy and PetSmart often have batches in the $70-$80 range but may run 110-140 miles. The average earnings for those batches is $14-$16/hour.
It’s not difficult to make $100 per day doing Roadie for short local deliveries but expect to do a lot of them. If you have a large SUV or pickup truck, you might be able to squeak out $200 per day without driving more than 125-150 miles.
