For about 4,000 DoorDash drivers in Maryland, a recent pilot quietly turned into something rare in gig work: money they could actually use to take a day off. Over a four-month test, DoorDash funneled roughly 4% of participating Dashers' pre-tip earnings into worker-owned Stride Save accounts, creating small monthly deposits that could be tapped for paid time off or emergency savings. In all, the program sent about $390,000 to Maryland drivers, and some say it was the difference between grinding through extra shifts and finally taking a breather without losing income.
How the pilot worked
DoorDash rolled out the Maryland portable-benefits pilot in May 2025. To get in the door, Dashers had to earn at least $1,000 before tips between April and June 2025 and complete 100 deliveries in Maryland. Those who hit the mark were invited to open a Stride Save account, where DoorDash would begin making monthly deposits starting in July.
The company set the contribution at 4% of each participating Dasher’s pre-tip earnings, and drivers could choose how to label and use that money, including buckets for paid time off, health coverage, or retirement. The eligibility window and deposit schedule are detailed by Stride.
What drivers spent the money on
A follow-up survey shared with The Banner paints a clear picture of how the cash was used. Most Maryland Dashers in the pilot steered their deposits toward taking time off or padding emergency savings. Smaller slices of the group used the money for longer-term needs. About 9% of participants directed funds to retirement, and roughly 7% used deposits for health-related expenses. Altogether, DoorDash distributed about $390,000 across roughly 4,000 Maryland Dashers during the test period.
Many respondents told surveyors the payments boosted their sense of financial security, even if the amounts were modest, according to The Baltimore Banner.
On the ground
For Prince George’s County driver Erica Leslie, the pilot’s impact was immediate and very practical. She told The Banner she used her first deposit to pay bills, get to a dentist appointment, and take several days off from delivering. The extra cushion mattered because gig work is no side hustle for her.
“It is my career at this point,” Leslie said, explaining how even small, predictable contributions helped her cover necessities while she searched for more stable housing. A DoorDash spokesperson told The Banner the Maryland test is a “starting point” as the company looks for ways to shore up drivers’ financial security without changing their independent contractor status.
A pattern across pilots
If the Maryland results sound familiar, it is because DoorDash has seen this movie before. The company’s analysis of an earlier Pennsylvania pilot found that drivers there also channeled most of their contributions into paid time off and emergency savings, with other categories like health care and retirement taking smaller shares.
Those Pennsylvania findings, laid out in a December 2024 report from DoorDash, helped shape the Maryland rollout and are now frequently cited as part of a growing body of evidence on how gig workers actually use portable benefits when they are offered.
What lawmakers are watching
State policymakers in Maryland and beyond have been watching these pilots closely as they debate how to extend benefits to gig workers without reclassifying them as employees. One idea on the table in several capitols would explicitly allow platforms to pay into portable benefit accounts tied to individual workers while keeping current contractor rules intact.
Academic work and state policy briefs describe voluntary pilots like DoorDash’s as a potential middle ground. The argument is that these programs can preserve the flexibility that draws workers to app-based gigs while giving them at least some access to benefits that look more like what traditional employees receive.
The Mercatus Center’s policy work notes that governors in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Georgia have either supported or studied experiments similar to the DoorDash pilots as one response to the “benefits gap” in gig work. Those analyses are now part of the background material lawmakers sift through as they decide whether to write portable-benefit frameworks into state law.
