Swiggy, Zomato allege delivery partners in Delhi being harassed over new bike taxi curbs

Online food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato have alleged that their delivery partners operating in Delhi are being harassed and fined over the new curbs on bike taxi services in the national capital. Swiggy on Wednesday said the recent changes in regulations on bike taxi services in Delhi have caused confusion and disruption to their services, creating panic among their delivery executives.

A Swiggy spokesperson told IANS that their delivery executives are being wrongly issued challans despite the notification being applicable only to bike taxi service providers. “Some challans that have been issued to our delivery executives are in excess of Rs 15,000,” said the company spokesperson.

This has “created fear and apprehension among our delivery executives”, who are crucial in ensuring that our customers receive their orders on time.

A Zomato spokesperson told IANS that “while the notice is only for passenger vehicles, there is some misinterpretation on the ground”.

In a letter sent to the Delhi government’s transport department and seen by IANS, Dinker Vashisht, Group Vice President, Public Policy, Regulatory and Sustainability at Swiggy, wrote that the directions have been misinterpreted by Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials, who have started issuing challans to delivery partners.

“This has led to disruption of services, and confusion among the delivery partners, who are now apprehensive of providing their service with a fear of being penalised and harassed while on duty,” Vashisht said, urging the Delhi government to intervene and give an assurance to delivery partners and last-mile delivery aggregators.

“Ensuring that our delivery executives can operate smoothly and serve our customers without any interruptions is our top priority,” said the company.

Last week, ride-hailing major Uber asked the Delhi government to create a level-playing field for two-wheeler mobility rides for commuters.

The company said that different electrification mandates for ridesharing and delivery sectors, not only lead to inequitable sharing of responsibility but “seriously disadvantage the entire industry”.

Carrying passengers on bike taxis bearing private registration numbers has been made a punishable offence and may attract fines up to Rs 10,000, according to a circular issued by the Transport Department of the Delhi government.

Delhi uses two-wheelers across ridesharing platforms, accounting for estimated 20 lakh trips every month. In 2022, over 19 lakh trips took place to and from metro stations in NCR on Uber Moto, underscoring the need-gap bike taxis to fill in solving the last-mile commute.

— IANS

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