Blog / Parcels

A taxi driver already going across town can carry your parcel in the boot for a fraction of what a same-day courier charges, and it arrives in the time the drive takes rather than at the end of a sorting-hub cycle. The trade is that there is no conveyor belt, no barcode and no depot — the safety comes from what you and the driver agree before the parcel leaves your hands.

Pack as if nobody will be careful

• Seal the box or bag properly. A driver should never have to guess whether they are allowed to look inside.
• Wrap anything fragile in a way that survives a boot on a rough road. Glass, screens and ceramics need padding on all six sides.
• Write the receiver's name and phone number directly on the parcel, not just in the chat.
• Keep liquids upright and double-bagged. A leak that damages a driver's car becomes your bill.
• Photograph the sealed parcel before handover. It takes two seconds and settles any later question about condition.

What a driver can and cannot carry

Rules differ by country, so treat this as the floor rather than the ceiling. Across every market we operate in, do not ask a driver to carry:

• Cash, gold, or anything you would not replace out of pocket if it vanished
• Anything illegal to possess or transport where you are, or where it is going
• Weapons, ammunition or controlled substances
• Live animals
• Flammable, corrosive or pressurised goods — including large gas canisters and some cleaning chemicals
• Unpackaged sharp objects

A driver is allowed to refuse any parcel without giving a reason. If they decline, that is the system working.

The handover: three messages that prevent every dispute

1. Before pickup: describe the item, its weight and its size, and confirm the agreed price. "One sealed A4 document box, about 3 kg, going to [address]. Agreed price [amount]."
2. At pickup: send the photo of the sealed parcel in the chat thread. Now both of you have a timestamped record of its condition.
3. At delivery: ask the driver to confirm in chat who received it and at what time. If the receiver is not there, agreeing what happens next is much easier before the driver has driven away.

The chat thread is your tracking number. Everything agreed in it is visible to both sides, permanently.

Pricing a parcel run

Parcels cost less than a ride over the same distance because the driver is not carrying a passenger and can stack the trip with other work. Expect roughly a third off the equivalent short-ride fare, with three things pushing it back up:

If something goes wrong

Most problems are timing, not loss: the receiver is not answering, or the address was wrong. Message the driver first — they are usually still nearby and can wait or redirect. If a parcel is genuinely lost or damaged, report it from the booking with the photo you took and the chat history. Reported accounts are frozen while we review, and a driver who cannot explain a missing parcel does not stay on the platform.

For anything urgent and irreplaceable, use an insured courier. This service is built for speed and cost, not for insured high-value freight — being honest about that is part of keeping it safe.

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