News Content

Uber-like road haulage start-up ignites transcontinental US trade

ROADIE, an Uber-like road haulage scheme, with the organisation charging US$12 to $500, with drivers getting 80 per cent of the fee, has set itself up in Atlanta, Georgia.

The company has expanded in eight south-eastern states and then went nationwide, reports the Dallas Morning News.

Milton Green, 39, who owns a small courier business, Irving, Texas, also works with Roadie. Mr Green has done three jobs - called gigs - for Roadie and he hopes to pick up more as the service expands.

"Once it gets established, I think there will be gigs popping up all over," said Mr Green. "People here have things to ship, and I think I can make a decent living."

Roadie, which has 26 employees, has signed up 20,000 drivers in the US, and can provide service now to just about anywhere in the US.

It all started 18 months ago in Atlanta when Roadie founder Marc Gorlin, 43, struggled to get a box of tiles delivered to his condo in Florida.

The tile got delayed in Birmingham, and Mr Gorlin couldn't find a company willing to quickly pick up and deliver.

Consequently, Mr Gorlin, who calls himself a "serial entrepreneur", began pondering alternatives.

"I look left and see all these cars on the interstate and I look right and see the same thing, and I thought surely someone is headed to Florida," he said.

"And that's when it hit me: Someone is going somewhere all the time."

He decided to develop an app that lets people seek drivers headed to destinations where they need a package shipped.

Drivers sign up with Roadie, and when a gig gets posted that's on their way to some destination, they can take it.

Some drivers, like Ricky Jessie of DeSoto, are with Uber. Others are travelling salespeople, and some, like Mr Green, have truck routes that regularly take them to major areas.

"When you overlay all the trips people are taking, we have a bigger heat map than UPS or the Postal Service," Mr Gorlin said of Roadie's potential.

To become a Roadie driver, people must scan the front and back of their drivers' licences and provide information on their vehicles and insurance.

Besides hauling packages for individuals, Roadie gets work from small businesses such as florists, bakeries and print shops.

"If I'm in Atlanta and need to get something to Birmingham in four hours, there's no traditional transportation server for that," Mr Gorlin said.

In addition, Roadie has begun transporting pets for owners who don't want to put them on planes.

"Basically, we are a company that allows people to send all sorts of things, but we don't rely on airlines or trucks or sorters at big shipping companies," he said. "We want to change the way people send things."

Once drivers have picked up a package - and affirm it through their cellphones - shippers can track the route and progress of their packages through the Roadie app.

All packages are automatically insured for up to $500, and more is available through Roadie.