The Curbswap field guide.
Everything you need to run a perfect move — how jobs work, how you get paid, and exactly what to do when something doesn’t go to plan. Read it once during onboarding; come back whenever you need it.
Version 1.0 · Updated July 2026 · Los Angeles
What you actually do here.
Curbswap does one thing: we move customers’ parked cars before street sweeping and other posted restrictions hit, so they never get the ticket. Customers park like normal and schedule moves in the app. A vetted, background-checked driver — you — is the person who makes that promise real.
A job is short and local. You get to the car, take the spare key from the customer’s SwapBox™ (the smart lockbox mounted on their window), photograph the car from four angles, drive it a few blocks to a legal spot, park, photograph it again, and confirm the new location. The GPS pin you drop is the spot the owner walks to. No passengers, no deliveries, no long hauls.
This handbook is the standard. Do a move the way it’s written here and you’re doing it right — and the record the app builds along the way (photos, GPS, timestamps, access logs) protects you exactly as much as it protects the customer.
From application to first payout.
Five steps between “interested” and your first paid move — everything after the application happens inside the Curbswap driver app.
Apply
Tell us about yourself on the Drive with Curbswap page. We review every application personally and reply by email with your next steps.
Verify your identity
In the driver app, photograph your government ID and take a quick selfie. Verification is handled securely by Stripe Identity and usually clears in minutes.
Pass the background check
You’ll give consent in the app, and we check your driving record and background. Most checks come back within a few business days.
Get approved
We review your license, insurance, and check results. Once you’re approved, you can go online and see jobs near you.
Set up payouts
Connect your bank or debit card through Stripe Connect, right in the app. This is where every move payment and tip lands.
You’ll need a valid California driver’s license, a clean driving record, current auto insurance, and a smartphone that runs the Curbswap driver app.
A perfect move, step by step.
Every job follows the same eight beats. The app walks you through each one — and won’t let you skip the parts that matter.
Accept the job
The job card shows the pickup spot, the time window, and your exact payout before you commit. Only accept moves you can finish inside the window.
Get to the car
Navigate to the pin, confirm the plate matches the job, and tap “I’ve Arrived” once you’re standing at the vehicle.
Open the SwapBox™
The app issues you a one-time code for the customer’s SwapBox. It only works during your move window and within 200 meters of the car — and every open is logged.
Before photos
Four angles: front, back, driver side, passenger side. Well-lit, whole car in frame, plate legible. The app won’t start a move without them.
Make the move
Drive straight to a legal spot nearby. Seat and mirrors adjusted so you’re safe, seatbelt on, phone down.
Pick the spot
No upcoming sweeping window, no tow-away or permit-only restrictions, nothing blocked — and a reasonable walk from where the customer left it.
After photos & park
Park, shoot the same four angles again, and tap “Vehicle Parked.” Your GPS at that moment becomes the car’s official location — so do it at the car, not down the block.
Lock up & done
Key back in the SwapBox, box locked, job complete. The payout posts to your earnings right away.
The details that make or break a move
One-time key access
Your SwapBox code is minted for you, for this move only. It expires with the job, refuses to work more than 200 meters from the car, and every open is logged. Never write a code down, share it, or try one from a previous move.
Photos that protect you
The before/after set is your shield. If a customer reports a scratch that’s already in your before photos, the photos settle it in seconds. Shoot close enough to see the panels, far enough to frame the whole car — and retake anything blurry or dark.
What counts as a legal spot
Read every sign on the block, top to bottom. Skip anything with a sweeping window coming up, tow-away or rush-hour lanes, permit zones you can’t satisfy, hydrants, driveways, and red or white curb. Keep it a reasonable walk from the original spot — and when in doubt, keep looking.
Your pin is the record
“Vehicle Parked” stamps your live GPS as the car’s official location — it’s literally where the customer will walk. Tap it standing at the car, after your after-photos, never from your next stop.
Their car, your reputation.
Customers hand us their keys sight unseen. These standards aren’t suggestions — they’re the deal.
Drive like the owner is watching
Effectively, they are: every move is photographed, GPS-tracked, and timestamped. Drive smoothly, park considerately, and treat the car like it’s the nicest thing this person owns — for a lot of customers, it is.
Leave it how you found it
Adjust the seat and mirrors so you can drive safely — then put them back before you lock up. Same for anything else you touched. The owner shouldn’t be able to tell anyone was there, except the car is in a new legal spot.
Nothing in the car but you
No smoking, no vaping, no food or drinks in a customer’s vehicle. Ever. Leave nothing behind — not even a scent.
No personal stops
Point A to point B by the shortest sensible route. No drive-thrus, no errands, no detours, and never another person in the car.
Phone for the Curbswap app only
While you’re on a job, your phone is for the app — photos, navigation, confirmations. Not calls, not texts, and never anything at all while the car is moving.
What you earn, and when it lands.
Per-move, visible up front, paid out weekly. No points, no quests, no opaque algorithms.
Every move pays a flat base rate, plus a rush-hour bonus for moves scheduled to start in the 7–10 am and 4–7 pm windows — the hours when sweeps stack up and we need drivers most. At launch that’s a $3 base with a $2 rush bonus; current rates always show in the app, and your exact payout is on every job card before you accept. What you accept is what you’re paid — it never changes mid-job.
After every move, the customer can rate you and add a tip. Tips are 100% yours — Curbswap never takes a cut — and they land in your earnings on top of the move pay.
Earnings pay out weekly and automatically through Stripe Connect to the bank or debit card you linked during onboarding. The Earnings tab shows every completed move, bonus, and tip, plus the status of your next payout.
The playbook for a bad day.
Something will eventually go sideways — that’s fine. The one rule: don’t improvise. Every situation below has a Report an issue path in the driver app, and reporting honestly is never held against you.
You can’t find the car
Re-check the pin and plate in the app and walk the block — pins can drift a few doors. Still nothing? Report an issue → Can’t locate vehicle. Support checks with the customer; you don’t eat the mistake.
The SwapBox won’t open
Confirm you’re at the right car and inside your move window — the code refuses outside 200 meters or outside the window. If it still won’t open, report it from the job screen. Support can troubleshoot or reissue access, and if it can’t be fixed the job cancels at no fault to you.
The car won’t start
Don’t force it and don’t go hunting for jump cables. Put the key back in the SwapBox, lock it, and Report an issue → Vehicle won’t start. We handle the customer from there.
You find damage
Photograph it before you touch anything — a wide shot plus close-ups — then report it in the app. Your report timestamp and before-photos prove the damage predates your move.
There’s already a ticket on the windshield
Photograph it exactly where it sits, report it in-app, and leave it with the car. The timestamp shows it predates the move. Then carry on — the move still saves the next one.
You’re running late
Act the moment you know. If you can still finish inside the window, keep going. If you can’t, release the job in the app so another driver can grab it. An early release is respected; a silent no-show is not.
Nothing here is worth a wreck.
When this handbook and your safety conflict, safety wins — every time, no exceptions.
Never move a car you can’t safely operate
Brake warning lights, bald tires, a windshield you can’t see through, a seat that won’t let you reach the pedals — report it and decline to drive. A canceled move costs nothing; an unsafe one can cost everything.
Belt on, phone down
Seatbelt on every single move, even a two-block hop. Zero phone interaction while the car is in motion — the app is designed to never need input mid-drive.
If there’s an accident
Get yourself safe first. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is blocked. Then report it in the app immediately — photos of the scene help. Never leave, and never negotiate with the other party; support takes over with the customer and insurance.
How to stay on the platform.
The bar is simple: do moves the way this handbook describes and your account takes care of itself. Almost everything is coachable — a few things aren’t.
What gets drivers deactivated
Deactivated and think we got it wrong?
Every deactivation is reviewed by a person, and you can appeal: contact support from the app or at curbswap.app/support with the job number and your side of it. The move record — photos, GPS, timestamps, access logs — usually settles the question fast, and it works in your favor when you’ve followed this handbook.
Contact supportQuick answers for drivers.
How you get between jobs is up to you — your own car, a bike, a scooter, transit. The driving you’re paid for happens in the customer’s car. Plenty of drivers work a tight radius in dense neighborhoods where jobs are a short walk apart.
Everyday passenger cars — and every Curbswap move is automatic transmission. You should be comfortable getting into an unfamiliar car, adjusting it safely, and driving it a few blocks.
Weekly and automatically, via Stripe Connect, to the bank or debit card you linked during onboarding. Each move’s pay — and any tip — appears in your Earnings tab the moment the job completes.
Yes. Go online when you want, stay offline when you don’t. Jobs cluster around posted street-sweeping windows — especially the 7–10 am and 4–7 pm rush windows, which also pay the bonus.
Release it in the app the moment you know, so it goes back to the pool and another driver can take it. An occasional early release is completely understood; a pattern of silent no-shows is the fastest route to deactivation.
No — Curbswap drivers are independent contractors. You choose when to work and which jobs to accept, and you sign the Independent Contractor Agreement during onboarding in the driver app.
One signature, then the street.
Curbswap drivers are independent contractors. During onboarding in the driver app you’ll review and sign the Curbswap Independent Contractor Agreement — it covers your contractor status, pay terms, insurance requirements, and how customer property and information are protected. It says in legal language what this handbook says in plain English.
Independent Contractor Agreement (available in the driver app during onboarding)
There’s nothing to sign on this page — signing happens in the app once your application is approved.
Ready to take the first move?
Applications are open across Los Angeles. Short local moves, flexible hours, per-move pay.