It's no secret that food delivering riders race against time to ensure the order is delivered on time, whatever the cost. Those orange, red jersey riders with a huge bag pack on the back of their bike can be seen rushing to get ahead, often leading to traffic violations and endangering lives. The Greater Chennai Traffic Police conducted a special drive on March 30 to give food delivery partners a reality check and the numbers are baffling.
In just one day, the Chennai traffic police registered 978 cases, with fines amounting to Rs 1,35,400. All of these cases were registered against riders working for online delivery platforms. The city traffic police released details of violations, which showed the highest number of traffic violations were from Swiggy and Zomato, the two largest online food delivery platforms in India.
According to the statement released by GCTP, there were 450 cases against Swiggy riders while Zomato riders faced 278 cases. Dunzo was also not too far behind, trailing at 188 cases.
"It is also noticed that, due to the nature of payment terms, most of the food delivery partners are flouting traffic rules like signal violation, wrong-side driving, driving without helmet, using mobile handsets while driving, and over-speeding in an attempt to earn more by delivering quicker, endangering their lives and the lives of other motorists," GCTP said in a statement.
10-minute delivery? Really?
The shocking data by the Chennai traffic police comes on the heels of 10-minute delivery feature adopted by many online delivery platforms. Zomato introduced the feature, which received mixed reactions. Some startups like Blanket and Zepto are also offering 10-minute delivery service.
The average delivery time by Zomato and Swiggy is currently 20-25 minutes. The traffic violations reported by Chennai traffic police in one day is a reality check for Swiggy, Zomato and other online delivery platforms. If these companies start offering 10-minute delivery, the riders will be required to rush further, which would naturally lead to traffic violations and worse, endangering of lives.
The riders delivering food ordered through these platforms are commonly seen jumping red light, riding without helmet, using mobile, speeding and the likes. As per the data by GCTP, 70 agents were fined for riding on the wrong side of the road. The GCTP has questioned the nature of the payment terms by these online food delivery agents, which is forcing them to go to extreme lengths.
