How does same day delivery work?
A same day courier service takes a shipment from one business address to another on the day you book it. You tell us where the shipment is, where it is going and when it has to be there. A driver with the right vehicle collects it and takes it straight to the delivery address, with no sorting center in between.
- Book it by calling (661) 344-8766 or in our online shipper portal once your account is set up. If your company runs its own TMS, it can usually be connected to the portal.
- We match the vehicle: a car, a cargo van or a 20 to 26 ft box truck, depending on size and weight.
- The driver collects from your office, dock, store or job site.
- It is delivered to the person or dock you name. In the portal you can follow the driver’s live location, onsite updates, and pickup and delivery updates with photos, so you have proof of delivery as soon as it is handed over.
The drivers are a network of vetted independent contractors with cars, cargo vans and box trucks, so the vehicle is picked for the load rather than the other way round.
On demand or scheduled: which same day delivery service fits?
| On demand | Scheduled | After hours or weekend | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it runs | Same day, booked when needed | A fixed day and window, every time | 8pm to 8am, or Saturday and Sunday |
| How you book it | Call or portal | Set up once with a coordinator | Arranged with a coordinator during phone hours |
| How it is priced | Vehicle base rate plus mileage | Quoted per stop or per route | Courier rate plus the night or weekend timing, quoted up front |
On demand suits the one-off: closing documents for an escrow office, a sample for a client meeting, a replacement part for a service call. When the same run starts repeating every week, it usually costs less as a scheduled route, and a busy day can be covered by a dedicated driver and vehicle booked for the day or set hours. Recurring store, supplier and job-site runs are covered on our final mile delivery page.
Rush delivery and emergency delivery
Most same-day courier work is urgent by definition. A rush delivery is one where the clock is the whole point: a replacement part for a stopped production line, a court filing, a lab specimen, a missing piece for a shoot or an install. Tell us the deadline when you call. We will tell you honestly whether a driver can make it, which depends on where a suitable driver is, the distance and Los Angeles traffic at that hour. Once the driver is moving, the portal shows where they are, so you can tell the person waiting at the other end when to expect them.
On the 2026 rate card, a rush run is priced like any on-demand courier run: the vehicle base rate plus mileage, with extras only when the job needs them. Specimen, device and pharmacy work for labs, clinics and device companies is covered on medical courier service.
After-hours, weekend and overnight courier service
Phones are answered Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Pacific, so night and weekend runs are arranged with a coordinator during those hours:
- After hours (8pm to 8am). Typical uses are evening store deliveries, early-morning job-site drops and loads that must arrive before a business opens.
- Weekends. Set up a Saturday or Sunday run during the week.
- Holidays. Ask as early as you can.
The night, weekend or holiday timing is added to the courier rate and listed on your written quote.
An overnight courier service, in the sense of a driver moving your shipment at night, is an after-hours run arranged in advance: collected in the evening, delivered in the window you agree. When the shipment has to reach a distant city quickly, an on-board courier can fly with it from LAX, SAN or SFO.
How much is same day delivery?
Same day delivery is priced on the vehicle and the trip miles. Each vehicle has a base rate that includes the first 20 miles from pickup to delivery: $45 by car, $80 by cargo van and $200 by 20 to 26 ft box truck. A run of 20 miles or less pays the base rate alone, before any extras. After the first 20 miles, mileage can start as low as $1.20 a mile, depending on the vehicle and the route, and it is set on your written quote.
If a load is borderline between two vehicles, send the weight and dimensions before you book: a cargo van starts at $80 against $45 for a car, before any mileage. Van and truck capacities are on box truck and Sprinter van delivery, and the Los Angeles courier cost guide explains what sets the price of a run. Extras such as waiting, added stops or a second person are added only when the job needs them and listed on your quote. For an exact price, send the addresses and load details through a quote request or call (661) 344-8766.
Same day courier in Los Angeles and Southern California
Alvy Logistics is based in Valencia, on the I-5 in the Santa Clarita Valley, and runs same day work as part of its courier service in Los Angeles across the county: the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Valley, downtown, Santa Monica and the Westside, the LAX area, Long Beach and the South Bay and Pasadena. Beyond the county, contractor drivers based in each area run same day work in Orange County, the Inland Empire, San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara and Fresno and the Central Valley, on the same rate card.
In Los Angeles, traffic sets the delivery window more than distance does. A short crosstown run at 5pm can take longer than a longer run up the I-5 mid-morning, so give us the deadline as well as the addresses.
What to have ready when you book
The pickup and delivery addresses, a contact at each end, what is going (pieces, weight, size), the deadline, and access details such as a loading dock, a gate code, a suite number or parking. With those in hand, most same day courier jobs can be priced and dispatched on the first call.
