Is delivering food a risky job in China?

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According to the traffic police section of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, in the first half of this year, food delivery men have been involved in a total of 76 traffic accidents causing casualties in the city, ele.me and Meituan – two of China’s biggest food delivery service companies – each accounted for 26%.

By far ele.me and Meituan have over four million food delivery men registered on their platforms dedicating to running errands for about 150 million clients across China day and night. But an alarming fact has been that three out of every 20 delivery men were caught up in traffic accidents.

The harsh industry rules made by those food delivery service companies could be one significant reason, which will give a fine to the delivery men if deliveries are not done on time; bad comments are received or traffic accidents ever occur to them.

Xinhua Photo

Moreover, the platforms encourage the employers to do as many orders as possible by paying more commissions based on the number of orders they are able to finish.

Therefore, in order to take orders, many delivery men are seen on the streets staring at their mobile phones to not miss a deal while still riding the electric bikes.

Xinhua Photo

Following the released data, the traffic police section of Shanghai Public Security Bureau talked to the two delivery companies, requiring them to strengthen their traffic safety management of the staff.

First, the delivery men shall be trained on traffic laws and safety awareness before signing a contract.

Second, all the delivery vehicles, whether it is owned or outsourced, will be checked to ensure that they meet the licensing requirements and are registered in accordance with the regulations.

Third, an identification system shall be established.

Fourth, a point system shall be introduced to assess the delivery men based on the degree of harm caused by violating traffic rules.

Finally, identity information of the delivery men must be provided to the Public Security Bureau.

Xinhua Photo

Regulations on the food delivery service in other cities are also developing.

Authorities of Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, for instance, has just established the country's first delivery management platform on Tuesday, which would ban the delivery man from riding a takeaway vehicle for a year if violating the traffic rules.

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