DoorDash’s gig workers have completed more than 5 million jobs that had nothing to do with delivering food since 2024, a company executive said on Tuesday, as the app stretches beyond takeout into retail services and work that props up autonomous vehicles.
Cody Aughney, DoorDash’s vice president for dashers and logistics, gave the figure at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. The tasks include assisting autonomous vehicles and taking updated photographs of retailers’ shelves and inventory, he said, jobs workers on the app can pick up for extra cash.
One such job comes from Waymo, Alphabet’s robotaxi service and a DoorDash partner. Waymo has enlisted nearby Dashers to close doors that passengers leave ajar, a gap that opens when no driver is behind the wheel. One Reddit post showed a driver offered $11.25 to shut a Waymo door, Business Insider previously reported.
Harrison Shih, who heads DoorDash’s drone program, told Business Insider that a Dasher could also be dispatched to clean up a spill, or to right Dot, the company’s delivery robot, if it is ever flipped over. Delivery bots can draw vandals and can trip up in the crowded city streets where they tend to work.
One thing we believe about autonomous systems is that they’re not stand-alone. I think this is a little bit of the misnomer of autonomous systems.
The range of tasks will grow as the company’s autonomous services expand, Mr. Shih said.
The company is also starting a service called Dasher Returns, in which a driver picks up a customer’s return and carries it to the right retailer for a flat fee.
Dasher Mike heads to the store, he finds parking, he waits in line, and he makes sure that my return is processed.
That was Shanna Prevé, DoorDash’s chief revenue officer, describing the service in a presentation.