Staying healthy is hard, especially when you work in the gig economy. After all, we’re sitting in our cars all the time and eating on the go. It’s not exactly a picture of a healthy lifestyle. If you’re trying to be more health conscious (you know, before you ruin your streak during the holidays) or you just want to enjoy fall, Postmates can help.
Postmates couriers don’t have to use a car or motorcycle—they can also bike or walk. These options limit you to a smaller area, as it won’t be time efficient for you to be biking several miles to complete one delivery, but they can still be lucrative while allowing you to get out and work on those fitness goals you’ve been putting off.
How to Change to a Walking Courier for Postmates
You must be offline to change your vehicle type. You can sign up for Postmates as a walking or biking courier. However, assuming you’re signed up as a driver, follow these steps to switch (even temporarily) to being a walking courier:
- Go to Account Settings.
- Choose from Car, Foot, Bicycle, Motorcycle, Scooter, Truck, or Van.
- Click “Confirm Vehicle” to save.
If you intend to switch between modes of delivery, be sure to check your settings before you start a shift. You can’t have your settings say you’re walking and then drive your car instead.
Make More Money on Your Lunch Break
If you go out for lunch over your regular lunch break, you’re going to be paying money to eat food that probably isn’t super healthy anyway. Why not get some exercise while you deliver other people’s lunches on foot during that time instead? Most Postmates walking couriers only have to walk about 15 minutes max, which is more than enough time to complete the delivery and walk back to your office.
The only downside to using Postmates on your lunch break is that you won’t be able to see the distance you’ll have to go before you accept an order. This means that you probably can’t risk accepting an order when your break is nearly up.
Postmates for People who Hate Driving
Becoming a walking courier can also be an especially attractive option to those who dislike driving. If you live in a busy enough area, you can just work in and around your neighborhood (or workplace). A possible downside can be wait time, since not all Postmates orders are placed in advance. However, Postmates will still pay you for your wait time if you have to order when you get to the restaurant.
Passive Income from Postmates
Okay, so you won’t make passive income from Postmates, but being a walking courier does open the door for some passive income options as well. If you’re walking for Postmates, you can also be making money from other apps that will pay you for reaching your fitness goals.
For example, GymPact will pay you for meeting your weekly “Pact” to eat healthier or exercise more. The earnings come from members who fail to meet their goal, but if you have to be at work and you’re suddenly walking for work, you won’t have to worry about a failed goal, right?
Achievemint will allow you to earn points for doing various healthy things, including walking or exercising more. These points add up into cash ($1 for every 1,000 points).
If you want to stay a little more mainstream, Walgreens’ Balance Rewards program offers point incentives for healthy lifestyle choices that you can redeem toward dollars off your purchases in the store.
