Food Service Shuttle Runs

Discussion in 'LTL and Local Delivery Trucking Forum' started by 88 Alpha, Oct 9, 2018.

  1. 88 Alpha

    88 Alpha Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    5,216
    16,187
    May 12, 2012
    SouthEast Alabama
    0
    There are several food distribution companies in my area and a couple of them have Shuttle positions open from time to time. The most recent advertisement is a shuttle run that goes 128 miles from the distribution center.

    I thought I understood what those drivers did: take loaded pups to a meet-and-greet point where 2 delivery drivers hook up to the loaded trailers and go deliver them, and you take their empty trailers back to the distribution center to be reload for the next day, wash, rinse, and repeat.

    However, the little short run has me curious. It's only 128 miles, so it's 2 - 2.5 hour drive at most, then another 2 - 2.5 hrs back, depending on traffic, etc. It would be tough to make a living on 25 hours/wk (assuming 5 hours paid per day and a 5 day work week), so what does the normal food service shuttle driver do to make extra hours for the day? Would he normally work on the docks or does he take one of the loaded trailers and deliver it himself? I suppose he might even be able to make it back to the DC and grab another set going to the same swap point for the area.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Cardfan89

    Cardfan89 Medium Load Member

    573
    12,436
    Jun 19, 2016
    Missouri
    0
    Our lot is 135 miles from the wearhouse and the shuttle guys usually do a turn and a half or two turns if they just have one turn believe me they find something to do to get there hours lol
     
  4. Radman

    Radman Road Train Member

    2,011
    2,402
    Apr 18, 2011
    0
    My area and my company our shuttle guys do 540 miles a day. 4 day work week. Pay is kinda low. For 4 days barley over 1k a week. Some I think squeeze a extra day. It’s all day shift though. It’s a separate board also so you can hire directly to a shuttle driver here. You can’t get bumped by a delivery driver either they go to the bottom if they switch. Also not much experience required either to do shuttles either. Most new drivers train on shuttles to get their miles in.
     
    Dave_in_AZ and 88 Alpha Thank this.
  5. Mike2633

    Mike2633 Road Train Member

    6,461
    25,877
    Jun 14, 2013
    At Home on The West Side
    0
    You do a double run. You go to different yards and stuff.
     
    Dave_in_AZ and 88 Alpha Thank this.
  6. layover6

    layover6 Light Load Member

    65
    55
    Jan 25, 2014
    0
    Could be scary doing shuttle for food dc as they r always short on drivers they could make us take a trailer and start making del
     
    Dave_in_AZ and 88 Alpha Thank this.
  7. Cardfan89

    Cardfan89 Medium Load Member

    573
    12,436
    Jun 19, 2016
    Missouri
    0
    Not gonna say that never happens but I will say it's not the norm... the shuttle guys have the same board as we do so its mostly high seniority older guys that are done pushing a two wheeler at my yard anyway
     
    88 Alpha, Radman and Mike2633 Thank this.
  8. Mike2633

    Mike2633 Road Train Member

    6,461
    25,877
    Jun 14, 2013
    At Home on The West Side
    0
    They don't do that to much, they run our guys pretty close on the hours so they can't really make them run routes. Ours have to different boards for road drivers and city drivers and different management for each group.
     
    Dave_in_AZ, 88 Alpha and Radman Thank this.
  9. Radman

    Radman Road Train Member

    2,011
    2,402
    Apr 18, 2011
    0
    Not at Mclane Foodservice it’s a totally different board and pay. That’s why these guys are still there. They would bounce if that happened. Not too many delivery drivers even our old ones want to do shuttle cause how low the pay is. They got big 4x4’s to pay on.
     
  10. Mike2633

    Mike2633 Road Train Member

    6,461
    25,877
    Jun 14, 2013
    At Home on The West Side
    0
    Anymore it's hard to take shuttle drivers and make them do delivery work, a lot of our shuttle drivers used to be route drives, but haven't done routes in years and they don't even have there own wheelers and there not tuned in to how the scanner system works and issuing credits and stuff. Usually when were short on delivery drivers management on the delivery side has to pick up the slack. Now I'm not saying never, but it's rare I think one time one of our transit guys went out with a manager and they knocked out a route together, but for a transit guy to go out on a route, would be very very rare. The problem you run into is by the time the transit guy gets back in the morning his hours are shot and then you need him to run at night time operationally it doesn't work.
     
    Dave_in_AZ and 88 Alpha Thank this.
  11. Cardfan89

    Cardfan89 Medium Load Member

    573
    12,436
    Jun 19, 2016
    Missouri
    0
    The very few times its happened the shuttle guy has went and started a route and waited for the cavalry to rescue him because someone has called in at the last minute but they do it old school no computer borrowed two wheeler general disregard on the way we do things lol
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.