Gig Economy: No Vehicle? No Problem

What’s Life But A Series Of Experiments Anyway?

This year’s trip to Winnipeg was a bit different. That being said, Winnipeg is the same wonderful city it always is. The big difference for me this year is not having a smaller vehicle to get around in. Unfortunately, towing the XTerra was out of the question, since XTerra’s can’t be flat towed or dolly towed. The combined weight of the XTerra and a trailer would put it over Daisy Mae’s 5000 lb weight limit. Anyway, I thought I’d try getting by without a car this year. I figured I’d try using the gig-economy driving and delivery services and just see how it goes. After 2020 different ride sharing services the different grocery delivery options have sprung up. Could they replace a car? I needed to find out.

Getting Around With Ride Sharing

For the most part, it works, and it’s undoubtedly cheaper than the cost of bringing, insuring and maintaining a toad (towed vehile). However, I’ve found that I stay at the campground a lot more. It’s pretty boring. On the plus side, my experiences with WInnipeg’s Uber drivers have been been pleasant and interesting. It’s always fascinating to find out the story of a stranger. Why did they move to the other side of the world where they have to learn a brand new culture and language. Perhaps especially to a place where winter is so brutal.

I met a young Afghani ex-patriot who still watches Afghan’s national sport Buzkashi. However, when he’s not driving people around in his Prius, he plays civilized games of cricket in Assinaboine Park. He says he sends money home to his relatives who remain in Afghanistan. And that he’s disturbed by the fact women are slaves in his country of origin. He braves Winnipeg’s frigid winters because it was the easiest place to immigrate to in Canada. I love meeting people with different perspective. Canada is such a beautiful mosaic of people from all over the world. Uber’s been a fantastic way to do that and make short jaunts around town.

Doordash Delivery Has Been Handy

I was able to get free DoorDash delivery with my Amazon Prime account. DoorDash is kind of cool because it provides a list of restaurants and stores that it delivers from in whatever area I happen to be in. Ordering groceries or other items through Doordash is easy. I just shop for the products I want on the Doordash app. The driver does the shopping and delivers them right to your door. After that, Doordash takes payment from my credit card. Even with the inevitable fees and tips, Doordash delivery costs less than driving to a store and picking up a delivery.

Other Grocery Delivery Options

The other option is getting food and other necessities delivered by a store. Many stores began offering this service during the 2020 covid crisis when everyone was trying to stay home. However, not all stores will deliver to a campground, even when it’s only minutes from town. as it turns out Real Canadian Superstore charges just $10 to deliver groceries to my campground near Winnipeg. it’s way more cost effective than driving to a store to buy groceries, even after you include a tip for the driver. If you happen to be interested in this program, it’s available through its PC express website.

So how did PC Express do when I got them to deliver groceries? I wound up with mixed feelings about PC Express delivery service. I was impressed by the fact the driver brought groceries right to my campsite. But also I was kind of chuffed when I ordered 21 items and only 15 of them were delivered. However, the produce all looked good.

Do Gig Economy Services Deliver?

There’s a lot to love about gig economy ride sharing and delivery services like Uber and DoorDash. They’re convenient and can be economical. However, on a practical level, they just don’t match up with having a small car or even a motorbike for convenience. I’d like to take Annie and Jolene to Winnipeg’s fabulous dog parks this year and there is nothing in the gig economy that allows this.

When I started out, I thought traveling with a big Class A motorhome would be more difficult than it was. I didn’t wanted to get used to driving the big rig before I hooked up a car to it Driving Daisy Mae turned out to be a piece of cake, so next year I’ll have a different setup. I still might use Uber at times.