BOSTON– Rising demand for food delivered quickly has spawned small armies of couriers — and heightened alarm — in big cities, where scooters, motorcycles and mopeds dart in and out of traffic and bounce on pedestrian-crowded sidewalks as their drivers race to deliver salads and sandwiches. .
Authorities in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., began cracking down on delivery companies, issuing warning letters, impounding illegally registered or driven vehicles and launching special street patrols to enforce speed limits. Resistance is not limited to the USA: there have also been a series of repressions in London and other British cities.
In turn, delivery companies have committed to working with municipal authorities to ensure that all their drivers operate legally and safely.
In a letter this week to food delivery companies DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber, Boston authorities cited an “alarming increase in the illegal and dangerous operation of motorcycles, mopeds and motorized scooters” that they say put drivers, other drivers and pedestrians “in imminent danger”. .”
The letter alleged that some drivers were operating unregistered vehicles and breaking traffic laws, and warned of an imminent crackdown on the vehicles. It also required companies to explain how they can ensure their drivers operate safely. Massachusetts State Police said they have identified dozens of mopeds and scooters that were improperly registered or operated by unlicensed drivers. Fourteen illegal mopeds and scooters were seized on Wednesday in one Boston neighborhood alone.
In New York City, authorities this year seized 13,000 scooters and mopeds; on Wednesday, they smashed more than 200 illegal mopeds and other delivery vehicles. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. officials launched a program Wednesday called Operation Ride Right to ensure two-wheeler drivers comply with the law. Since its inception, authorities have made five arrests and seized 17 mopeds.
“They terrorized many of our pedestrians, especially the elderly and the elderly,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday at an event where two-wheeled motorized delivery vehicles were destroyed. “Passengers who feel the rules don’t apply to them will see an aggressive enforcement policy in place.”
When food delivery services re-emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, most drivers used cars to deliver their tickets. This has led to increased traffic congestion, prompting a shift to motorcycles and other two-wheeled modes of transportation.
The drivers, many of them immigrants from Latin American countries but also from West Africa and South Asia, say they are just trying to make a living and providing a service that delivers food quickly to customers.
“We’re not all bad,” said Luis López, a delivery driver from the Dominican Republic who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday from his motorcycle in an area of several fast-food restaurants near the Boston Public Library. “We came to work, earn a living, pay the rent and send something back to our families.”
López, who came to the U.S. about three years ago, acknowledged that some drivers are unlicensed or drive unregistered vehicles, and he has seen them run red lights and enter sidewalks, threatening pedestrians. Some people are so reckless that they also put other delivery drivers at risk, he said.
He said he was among a group of 10 delivery drivers outside a Chick-fil-A on Thursday night when a police officer approached them with a pamphlet describing how to register their scooters and mopeds. The entire group agreed to do just that.
“We have to respect the law,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “We will respect the law so they let us work here.”
Motorized two-wheeler drivers are under much more scrutiny than other car workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, faced years ago because they can more easily violate traffic laws, said Hilary Robinson, an associate professor of law. . and sociology at Northeastern University.
The move to vehicles “is really an attempt to make low-wage, high-risk labor available so that we can all have cheap goods and services,” Robinson said. “It’s perhaps one of the reasons why people are starting to realize that there really is no such thing as a free lunch.”
William Medina, a New York delivery man who is also the lead organizer of the Los Deliveristas Unidos Campaign, blames the delivery companies.
“This is a problem that started because companies force you to complete long-distance deliveries,” he said in a phone interview Friday. Medina started delivering food by bike, switched to an electric bike and now uses a motorcycle for longer trips.
“If you have to complete the delivery 6 miles, 7 miles, you have to complete it,” he said.
Among those advocating for stricter enforcement in Boston is Councilman Edward Flynn, who said on Facebook that “it can no longer be the Wild West on the streets of Boston.”
“Everyone who uses the city’s roads must comply with traffic rules. If you can go 25 mph like a car, you should be licensed, registered and have liability insurance in case of an accident and injury,” he wrote.
Some Boston residents support tougher action against scooters.
“I get frustrated when they don’t follow traffic laws,” said Anne Kirby, a 25-year-old student eating lunch in a Boston neighborhood, just feet from several scooters. “I feel like I almost get run over every day when they go through the crosswalk when it’s not their turn to go.”
But Jaia Samuel, a 25-year-old hospital worker from Boston, was more conflicted. She said she agrees that delivery scooters can be dangerous, but also acknowledged that she relies heavily on delivery services for her food.
“I think it’s unsafe, to some extent, to pass between cars and not stop at a red light,” she said. “But I feel like everyone should be able to make a living, so who am I to say anything? It would be unfortunate for me. I would be suffering from the repression against them. I order a lot of Uber Eats, DoorDash.”
Three major food delivery services have pledged to work with officials and neighborhood advocates to address the issue.
“The overwhelming majority of Dashers do the right thing and, like all drivers, must follow the rules of the road. If they don’t, they will face consequences – just like everyone else,” DoorDash said in a statement Wednesday.
Grubhub said its employees already agree to obey all local traffic laws. “While law enforcement is best handled by police, we take safety seriously and will take action to address any reports of unsafe driving,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
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Associated Press writers Michael Warren in Decatur, Georgia, and Lisa J. Adams Wagner in Evans, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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