The Wheel Thing: Beyond Uber and Lyft-on demand services focus on moving stuff

The Wheel Thing: Beyond Uber and Lyft-on demand services focus on moving stuff

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Lyft and Uber pioneered on demand transportation of people. Now companies are adapting the idea to moving things.

It’s hard to believe that only five years ago there was no way to Uber home from a party, or Lyft back from the airport. The ride hailing services have successfully disrupted the taxi cab industry and inserted themselves into our life and culture.

Now that we’re using our smartphones to move ourselves around, a lot of entrepreneurs are betting we are going to want to use them to move our stuff around, too. A host of start-ups are offering a variety of specific delivery services, and the big guys are playing too.

A site that specializes in finding a sitter or boarding for you pet, DogVacay is piloting a program to transport your pooch. 

Roadie connects people who are driving places with people who have stuff that needs to get to those places. It takes advantage of the extra space most people have in their car on road trips, and provides a cheap way for senders to ship things, and for drivers to pick up a little extra dough.

Bought a couch, or a big screen TV on Craigslist, and need a way to get it home. Enter BringPro, based in Orange County. They promise delivery within two hours for a minimum fee of $29.

Hungry, but too lazy to cook or go out? Lots of options there including Postmates, DoorDash, and the new UberEATS, which promises meals delivered in as little as ten minutes.