TaskRabbit outsourcing errands website coming to London this year

TaskRabbit, a San Francisco website which connects people with errands to "rabbits" willing to run the errands and make deliveries via job bids, plans to make London the first international city to offer its services.

Task Rabbit has taken off in the US since moving to California from Boston in 2010. Yesterday it added Seattle to the nine cities where it offers its 'mini-outsourcing' services. The company plans to be in London by the end of the year.

Founder Leah Busque said the ideal TaskRabbit is someone who lives in your own neighborhood and may be at the very store you need something from. She thinks TaskRabbit can form social connections and personalise the technology-based way people tend to live in cities.

"Tech sort of siloed us and now these technologies are bringing a sense of community back," Busque said. "I think people are really excited about that."

Busque founded the service after running out of dog food on a night when she didn't have time to go to the store.

Demand is high for the service network in some cities. TaskRabbit employee Johnny Brackett says the company has a waiting list of about 5,000 people who want to become registered TaskRabbits. Potential errand runners must pass a video interview and background check before performing tasks.