Which courier services can San Diego businesses book?
Alvy Logistics provides courier services in San Diego for businesses. Runs inside the county go to independent-contractor drivers based in San Diego County. The company’s only warehouse is in Valencia, at the north end of Los Angeles County, and there is no San Diego office or counter, so a driver comes to your door or dock.
Business courier work in the county usually falls into four groups:
- Runs inside the county, same day or on a schedule: originals to a downtown office, a part to a Kearny Mesa or Otay Mesa business park, cartons to a store in Chula Vista. The same-day courier page explains how on-demand work is dispatched.
- Messenger runs between law firms, title and escrow offices and the downtown courthouses. When a San Diego County delivery needs a signed custody form or receipt, the driver signs it at handoff, as the driver.
- Medical and lab work for clinics, labs and device companies, covered below.
- Long runs on the I-5 from Los Angeles or the Valencia warehouse, priced on the whole trip.
What do courier services in San Diego cost?
San Diego County runs start at $45 by car, $80 by cargo van and $200 by box truck, the same rates Los Angeles runs use. Each vehicle has a minimum charge, its base rate, and that base pays for the first 20 miles from pickup to drop-off. Miles beyond 20 are added as mileage, set on your written quote. When pickup and delivery are both in the county, the mileage is measured between those two addresses. The San Diego County examples below show which runs stay at the base rate and which add mileage, before extras.
| Trip in or to San Diego | Miles by road | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Sorrento Valley to downtown San Diego | 15 miles | Base rate only |
| Carlsbad to downtown San Diego | 35 miles | Base rate plus mileage |
| Downtown Los Angeles to downtown San Diego | 120 miles | Base rate plus mileage |
| Valencia warehouse to downtown San Diego | 160 miles | Base rate plus mileage |
Mileage is routed between city centers, or from the Valencia address, so treat it as a guide: the quote is built on your two actual addresses. There is no charge to bring a driver to you, long runs use the same base rates as local ones, and there is no separate long-distance band. Tolls pass through at cost and a fuel surcharge may apply. Wait time, added stops, a liftgate and night or weekend work are added only when the job needs them. Your written quote lists every charge for the job before a driver is booked, and our guide to courier costs in Los Angeles explains how a quote is built.
Is a same-day courier service from Los Angeles to San Diego possible?
Yes. A courier service from Los Angeles to San Diego is one long run down the I-5: about 120 miles from downtown Los Angeles to downtown San Diego, and about 160 from our Valencia warehouse. Through Camp Pendleton the freeway has no coastal alternative, so a crash or a closure there moves the delivery window, and the coordinator sets the departure with that in mind.
The jobs that justify this run are usually urgent: stock from the Valencia warehouse going to a San Diego store or business customer, a part from a Los Angeles supplier to a North County plant, or signed originals that cannot wait for an overnight parcel. From Orange County the run is shorter: Irvine to downtown San Diego is about 85 miles on the 405 and the I-5. When a shipment has to leave the region by air, an on-board courier can hand-carry it on a flight from San Diego International Airport.
Can a medical courier in San Diego serve labs and hospitals?
Yes. Medical courier work in San Diego follows the region’s lab and hospital map: research labs and life-science companies around Torrey Pines, Sorrento Valley and University City, and hospital campuses in Hillcrest, Kearny Mesa and La Jolla. The lab or clinic packs and marks each specimen, in UN3373 packaging where the rules call for it, and the driver carries the package sealed. The vehicles are ambient, so a specimen that must stay cool needs the shipper’s insulated pack, and controlled substances are not carried. The medical courier service page sets out STAT runs, routed pickups and the shipper’s packing rules in detail.
Do you cover North County, Chula Vista and El Cajon?
Yes. In North County the I-5 runs down the coast through Oceanside and Carlsbad, and the 78 crosses inland through Vista and San Marcos to Escondido. Plenty of runs there are short: Oceanside to Carlsbad is about 4 miles, Vista to San Marcos about 8 and San Marcos to Escondido about 6. From the Carlsbad business parks near McClellan-Palomar Airport to Sorrento Valley is about 19 miles, still inside the base rate.
South of downtown, Chula Vista is about 9 miles away on the I-5 or the 805, and the Otay Mesa industrial district about 22. East County runs head out the I-8 or the 94 to El Cajon, about 15 to 16 miles from downtown.
What do you need for a San Diego courier quote?
Send the pickup and delivery addresses, the piece count and weights, the time window and how each building receives: a dock, a suite, a front desk or a hospital receiving room. For a recurring route, add the stops and the days. With an account, you book and follow the run yourself in our online shipper portal, which shows the driver’s location anywhere from North County to Chula Vista, posts an update when they arrive at the hospital receiving room or dock, and attaches a photo to the pickup and to the delivery; business clients are invoiced. For a written quote, send a quote request or phone (661) 344-8766; calls are answered weekdays from 8am to 8pm Pacific.
