App-based delivery executives owe Rs 7.07 cr in fines for traffic violations

Sowmya Raju | NT

Bengaluru: The number of delivery executives in Bengaluru has increased significantly in recent years, due to the growing popularity of online food delivery services.

According to a report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the number of delivery executives in India is expected to reach 5 million by 2025, with Bengaluru being a major hub for this sector.

Every day, delivery executives in Bengaluru navigate a treacherous landscape of potholes, traffic, and unrealistic delivery targets. They often have to break traffic rules to meet these targets, putting themselves and others at risk.

Most delivery excitives work round the clock on roads that are always congested, and there are potholes everywhere. They have to be very careful not to fall or crash.

As per the data shared by the city traffic authorities recently, a certain appbased delivery executive topped the list of traffic violations in the past five years.

The delivery executives of the food aggregator company had violated traffic rules as many as 72,000 times until February this year, a traffic official told News Trail.

In total, the penalties amount had gone up to a whopping Rs 3 crore. A delivery executive in the city who has to deliver 20 to 25 orders a day and cover a large area of the city said, “We are under a lot of pressure to deliver orders quickly. Sometimes, we have to break traffic rules to meet the targets. But we know that it is dangerous, and we are afraid of getting into accidents or worse, hurting someone else. But we are pressured to do so.”

A group of delivery executives waiting outside a restaurant to pick up their order told News Trail, “We are often blamed for errors on the side of the restaurants and customers. For example, if the restaurant delays the order, we get blamed. Or, if the customer enters the wrong address, we get blamed. It is very frustrating.”

They even alleged that they are constantly being blamed because we are the ones with the least power to fight back. A delivery executive from Assam, who moved here recently said, “I am new to the city and still learning the routes.

Because of that, I face several issues. ” The app-based food and vehicle aggregators in the city collectively owe Rs 7.07 crore in fines.

As many as 1,54,031 traffic violation cases had been registered against these companies including Swiggy, Zomato, Dominos, BOX8, Ola and Vogo in Bengaluru, the official added.

A rider, who travels every day on the same route said, “I once had a delivery executive who was riding his bike very rashly. I asked him to slow down, but he said that he was in a hurry to deliver my order. It was very dangerous.” he also said he had noticed several executives overtaking heavy vehicles dangerously, skipping signals, breaking traffic rules and so on.

"We are booking cases against them for violations and seizing their vehicles if they were found to be flouting the traffic rules. We are also conducting regular meetings with the management of the companies to communicate the message about it. For any violation against them, their vehicles will be seized and the fine will have to be paid in court," said MN Anuchet, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bengaluru.

Delivery executives play a vital role in our lives, but they are often overlooked and underappreciated. We need to be more understanding and supportive of them.

We also need to hold the food delivery apps accountable for the unrealistic delivery targets they set.