It was bound to happen. The emergence of a ‘good thing’ almost always leads to ‘too much of a good thing’. And an overabundance of food delivery drivers in our largest cities is causing chaos on our downtown streets…
Here’s just a taste of the kind of madness perpetrated by scooter-equipped food delivery drivers…
Imagine my surprise when I chanced upon the following story lede while scanning the food newswire this morning:
“A soaring demand for food delivered fast has spawned small armies of couriers — and increasing alarm — in big cities where scooters, motorcycles and mopeds zip in and out of traffic and hop onto pedestrian-filled sidewalks as their drivers race to drop off salads and sandwiches.”
Wrong of way?
“Officials in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., have started cracking down on delivery companies by issuing warning letters, seizing illegally registered or driven vehicles, and launching special street patrols to enforce speed limits,” the AP story goes on to explain. “The pushback is not limited to the U.S.: There have also been a series of crackdowns in London and other British cities.”
Why was I not aware of this?
There may be lots of reasons. Not the least of which being, I don’t use food delivery services. And I don’t live in the ‘city’, per sae. I’m a suburban girl, born and bred.
But I did live downtown for a year when I first came to Ottawa. I had a small apartment a few streets off the Byward Market – a famous tourist trap and farmer’s market in one of the oldest parts of town: just south of the Ottawa River and east of Parliament Hill. I was new, working the swing shift at the city’s biggest radio station. And I had to be close enough to get to work no matter what the weather.
But the biggest takeaway I absorbed from that experience was, there’s a part of every city that ‘never sleeps’. And that part of town is usually among the busiest all day long. I tried to imagine MY market infested with roach-like food delivery vehicles. Then I thought of the pedestrian traffic in the city core on a weekday – already chaotic, especially at lunch hour…
First, a nice letter…
In Boston, the city administration started it’s campaign to tame the delivery drivers by sending an official letter to the big operators. It calmly-as-possible referenced an, “alarming increase in unlawful and dangerous operation of motorcycles, mopeds and motorized scooters,” that posed an “imminent danger,” to pedestrians and law-abiding motorists.
…Then what?
But many drivers have not complied – for various reasons. Officials say many of their vehicles are unlicensed or improperly licensed. And many of the drivers themselves don’t carry the proper operator’s permits.
Boston police report having seized more than 14 illegal mopeds and scooters were confiscated in one day in a single Boston neighbourhood. New York City Police say they’ve seized more than 13,000 illegal 2-wheeled delivery vehicles so far this year.
At a recent ‘event’ where NYPD destroyed more than 200 illegal delivery vehicles, Mayor Eric Adams told the media: “They have terrorized many of our pedestrians, particularly our senior and older adults. […] Riders who think the rules don’t apply to them, they’re going to see [the] aggressive enforcement policy that’s in place.”
My take
Safe in my quiet southwestern suburb, I would never have dreamed of the issues posed by crazy delivery drivers doing whatever they had to, to get food orders to their destinations while they’re still hot. Not only must they feel a responsibility to the food brands they’re delivering… But they must also be uber-conscious (pun intended) that a slow or cold delivery will negatively affect any destination tip they might otherwise expect.
I’m just glad – and I’m not feeling ‘holier than thou’, here – that I’m not part of the problem – either on the ordering or the delivering end…
~ Maggie J.