DoorDash drivers, known as Dashers, have completed over 5 million tasks not involving traditional deliveries since the start of 2024. These tasks include assisting autonomous vehicles like Waymo's robotaxis and helping retailers with inventory updates, expanding the gig workers' earning potential beyond food delivery.
The expansion of DoorDash's services beyond traditional delivery highlights a growing trend of human-in-the-loop operations for autonomous systems, creating new micro-task opportunities for gig workers and potentially impacting the operational models of future automated services.
DoorDash drivers are increasingly taking on a variety of tasks beyond traditional food delivery, with over 5 million such tasks completed since the beginning of 2024. These new opportunities aim to provide gig workers with additional earning potential as the company expands its services, including those involving autonomous systems.
Cody Aughney, DoorDash's vice president of dasher & logistics, stated that these non-delivery tasks encompass assisting autonomous vehicles and helping retailers update photos of their shelves and inventory. For instance, Waymo, Alphabet's robotaxi service and a DoorDash partner, has utilized nearby Dashers to close doors left open by passengers. Harrison Shih, head of DoorDash's drone program, noted that Dashers might also be dispatched to clean up spills or assist DoorDash's own delivery robot, Dot, if it encounters problems like being flipped over in urban environments.
Shih emphasized that autonomous systems are not entirely stand-alone, suggesting a continued need for human intervention. DoorDash is also introducing a service called Dasher Returns, where drivers will pick up customer return items and deliver them to the appropriate retailer for a set fee. Shanna Prevé, chief revenue officer at DoorDash, described this service as involving drivers finding parking, waiting in line, and ensuring returns are processed.
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