

Everything you need to know before you join our founding 50 Piggybacks. Straight answers. No fluff.

We're building our founding community and want 50 reliable people who travel between Pretoria and Joburg regularly. You're in Phase 0 โ personally onboarded, founding badge locked, 95% earnings on your first 20 deliveries.
๐ฌ Join the CommunityPiggyBack is a peer-to-peer package delivery platform. Instead of hiring a courier, someone who needs to send a package connects with a person who is already travelling to the same destination.
Three roles exist: Sender (posts the request), Piggyback (the traveller who carries the package), and Receiver (collects at the destination). You can play any role but only one at a time.
All handovers happen at designated Stations only. No home addresses. Ever. Full stop.
In Phase 1 (right now), Stations are:
PiggyBack operates on 6 named highway corridors connecting Pretoria to Johannesburg. Every station โ petrol station or Gautrain โ must sit within 10km of one of these corridors to appear in the app. Stations outside that buffer are hidden automatically, even if they exist in the database.
PiggyBack operates on 6 named highway corridors connecting Pretoria to Johannesburg. Only petrol stations within 10km of these corridors are eligible as pick-up or drop-off stations.
If you search for a station and nothing appears, it means you're outside our current coverage area. We're expanding, but Phase 0 is intentionally focused on the PretoriaโJoburg corridor so we can do this well before we do it everywhere.
Simple and fast. Every delivery moves through six precise custody stages โ you always know exactly who is responsible for the package at any moment:
Each station stop takes about 10 minutes. The QR scan at every stage creates a legal digital record โ it protects you as much as the Sender.
When you go online as a Piggyback, you set your departure station, arrival station, and travel window (e.g. leaving Pretoria between 2pm and 4pm today).
The system shows you all active Sender requests that match your route and time window. You browse them, see package details, earnings, and speed tier โ then accept the ones you want.
You are never forced to accept anything. You choose every single delivery.
Hard limits: maximum 25kg actual weight and maximum 60cm ร 40cm ร 30cm dimensions. Anything bigger is a logistics job, not a PiggyBack job.
Here's how packages are categorised โ with real-world analogies so everyone knows exactly what size they're dealing with:
Tap a size to see full dimensions. When Senders select a size, dimensions auto-fill โ they can adjust if needed.
You set your own maximum size/weight preference in your profile. You'll only ever see requests that match what you're comfortable carrying.
Real numbers, no fluff. Here's what you earn as a founding Piggyback (95% for your first 20 deliveries):
After your 20th delivery, you move to the standard 80% split. Pretoria โ Rosebank on Standard becomes R57.44 โ still good money for a trip you were already making.
Realistically: 2 deliveries a week = R400โR700 extra per month. On trips you were already making.
How it breaks down: 95% to you. 5% to the platform (covers cover fund and operating costs). After delivery 20, it becomes 80% to you, 15% to the platform, 5% to the cover fund.
This is NOT a time-based offer โ it's delivery-based. Complete 20 deliveries in your own time. Your founding badge on your profile is permanent and never goes away regardless of when you complete your 20th.
Payment works through a registered South African payment platform (PayFast or Peach Payments).
Speed tiers are chosen by the Sender โ they decide how urgently the package needs to arrive. As a Piggyback, you earn more when a Sender picks a higher tier.
Rule of thumb: Standard for flexible trips, Priority for your regular daily commute, Express for when you know your schedule down to the hour.
Technically yes โ PiggyBack earnings are income under SARS and should be declared as freelance/independent contractor income. PiggyBack will issue you an annual earnings statement to make this easy.
In practice, most Piggybacks earning supplementary income at this level will fall within normal tax thresholds. If unsure, speak to a tax practitioner. We're not financial advisors โ but we'll give you everything you need to be compliant.
Fair and smart question. Here's what makes PiggyBack real:
This is the most important safety question and we designed the system specifically to protect you. Before any Sender can post a request, they must actively confirm a four-point declaration:
This checklist protects the Piggyback carrying your package. A false declaration is grounds for immediate ban and SAPS referral.
Every delivery includes R1,000 basic cover โ built into the base price, no extra cost to you. But your real protection is the condition report you complete at drop-off.
If you select anything other than "original condition", the app immediately prompts you to photograph the damage and opens a dispute flag โ before the Receiver has even collected. The dispute team reviews the three photo sets (posted, pick-up, drop-off) and the QR scan log. Resolution within 48 hours.
Senders can opt for R5,000 enhanced cover for an additional R25 โ for high-value items like electronics.
This is exactly why PiggyBack uses petrol stations and Gautrain stations โ not homes or private locations.
You are never required to go anywhere private. If a sender ever asks you to come to their home, decline and report it immediately. That is never a PiggyBack exchange.
PiggyBack operates under POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013) โ South Africa's data privacy law.
An Information Officer is registered with the SA Information Regulator. PiggyBack takes your data privacy seriously โ it is the foundation of the trust this platform runs on.
Right now the process is intentionally personal โ Khobe is onboarding every founding Piggyback individually. Here's how:
No. You can be a Piggyback by car, Gautrain, taxi, or bus โ as long as you travel between two stations and the package fits what you're already carrying.
You set your transport mode in your profile so the app shows you appropriate requests only.
We go live the moment we have 50 confirmed founding Piggybacks on the PretoriaโJoburg corridor. This is deliberate โ we refuse to open to Senders before there are enough Piggybacks to guarantee good match times.
Current status: actively onboarding. Every person who joins shortens the wait for everyone.
ID verification is how PiggyBack keeps every person on the platform accountable โ and how we protect you as a Piggyback.
When a Sender knows their package is being carried by a verified, real, named person โ they treat the interaction with more respect. And when you carry a package from a verified, real, named Sender โ you're protected.
This is a non-negotiable requirement. No exceptions โ for everyone's safety.
Yes โ as long as the combined weight is within your declared maximum and each package fits comfortably. You accept each request individually and both have separate QR confirmations.
This is actually one of the best ways to maximise earnings per trip. Two Priority deliveries on the same PretoriaโJoburg run could earn you R140โR180 for one journey.
Every Piggyback profile displays a Trust Score โ a visible badge stack that tells Senders exactly how verified and experienced you are before they confirm a match.
Each badge is earned automatically as you complete steps. A full Trust Score means faster matches and access to high-value requests.
Trust Scores are earned automatically as you complete steps. Senders browsing available Piggybacks make a split-second confidence decision โ a strong Trust Score means you get matched faster and can command priority requests.
Yes. PiggyBack runs a monetary penalty system alongside the strike system. Both apply at the same time. Penalties are deducted through the same escrow system โ no separate payment setup needed.
The rules apply to everyone: Senders who no-show at pick-up, Piggybacks who are late to pick-up or drop-off, and Receivers who don't collect. Here's the full breakdown:
PiggyBack runs a monetary penalty system alongside the strike system. Both apply at the same time. Penalties are processed through the same escrow system that holds your delivery payment โ no new payment setup required.
| Who | Event | What triggers it | Max penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sender | Late to pick-up | Not scanned at pick-up station 30min after agreed time | R75 forfeiture |
| Piggyback | Late to pick-up | Not arrived at pick-up station 30min after agreed time | R50โR100 from balance |
| Piggyback | Late to drop-off | Not arrived at drop-off station 30min after agreed time | R50 from earnings (Express) |
| Receiver | Late to collection | Not collected 30min after Piggyback arrives at drop-off | R15 inconvenience fee |
| Receiver | Return triggered | Package uncollected after 24 hours | R35 return fee |
Simple: refer someone you know who travels the PretoriaโJoburg route regularly. When they complete their first delivery, you earn R25 automatically.
Have them mention your name when they DM Khobe to sign up. That's it. No codes, no forms.
There's no limit on referrals โ refer 10 people who complete their first delivery and that's R250 before you've even carried a package yourself.
No. You are an independent contractor โ the same legal classification as Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts, and freelancers.
What this means practically:
You sign an Independent Contractor agreement when you join. This protects both parties clearly.
Yes, this is legal. PiggyBack is a peer-to-peer marketplace โ not a courier company. Think Airbnb (not a hotel chain) or Facebook Marketplace (not a retailer). The platform facilitates transactions between private individuals.
The prohibited items list ensures you never carry anything requiring a dangerous goods permit or that is otherwise illegal to transport.
You can decline any request before accepting it โ always, no reason needed.
After accepting, cancellations before pick-up are allowed with no penalty. Frequent late cancellations (after committing) will affect your rating over time, as reliability is core to how the community trusts you.
If you arrive at pick-up and the package looks different from the photo or you're uncomfortable for any reason โ do not take it. Report it in the app. You are never penalised for protecting yourself.
Here's the quick version for Senders:
Starting from R55 for packages up to 5kg and 30km. Price increases based on distance and size using volumetric weight (the same standard DHL and FedEx use).
Compare to Courier Guy at R95โR130 for PretoriaโJoburg alone. PiggyBack is 40โ65% cheaper than formal couriers on most routes.
Before every posting, Senders must actively confirm their package does not contain any of the following. This is a legal declaration โ not a terms checkbox buried in fine print.
Sending prohibited items results in permanent account ban and referral to SAPS. The declaration made at posting is a legal document.
If you haven't scanned in at the pick-up station 30 minutes after your agreed time, the delivery is cancelled. A portion of your delivery fee is forfeited โ the rest is refunded to you. Your Piggyback receives a guaranteed credit for their time.
The forfeiture amount increases with repeat offences over a 60-day window:
Yes โ after every completed delivery, PiggyBack automatically generates and sends you a PDF delivery receipt. It includes:
Receipt automatically emailed to Sender on delivery confirmation. Includes GPS coordinates for pick-up and drop-off.
For SMMEs sending goods to customers, this receipt doubles as your proof of delivery for any customer dispute. It's the same accountability paper trail a formal courier provides โ just built into a platform that costs 40โ65% less.
Join the PiggyBack Founding Community on WhatsApp โ your number stays private, and Khobe will reach out to you personally after you join.
๐ฌ Join the Community