• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Time to consider safety regulations for delivery cyclists?

by onlinecitizen
07/11/2016
in Letters
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

By Hwee Juan

Fast, inexpensive and convenient. That is what all of us want for our food, and what online food delivery companies are aiming for.

Back in 2012, Foodpanda was first launched in Singapore and gradually changed the way people perceived online food deliveries.

Following Foodpanda’s rising popularity, Deliveroo made its way into Singapore’s online food delivery market too, before Uber’s division of online food delivery – UberEats – joined the competition early this year. Clearly, there is a market here for online food delivery services, with Singaporean’s craving for good food “any time, any day”, but with the intense competition between these companies, are there some issues that we are overlooking?

Pretty sure it is not something unique, but food delivery on bicycles have become a common sight in Singapore, and while dismissible as something trivial, we should not dismiss the dangers these cyclists pose to others, as well as themselves.

When Singapore roads were made more bicycle-friendly in 2015, many voiced their concern that cyclists could jeopardize their own safety, as well as other road-users’ if unregulated, and hence the implementation of Chapter 276, Section 140 of the Road Traffic Act that specified rules for which cyclists had to follow.

To highlight, some of the primary concerns include the necessity for a ‘suitable protective bicycle helmet’, as well as the mandate that cyclists ride on the left side of the roads lest overtaking.

To apply to work as a rider for online food delivery companies like FoodPanda, UberEats and Deliveroo, is pretty simple: Sign up, Verify, and Voila!

sign-up

However, the increasing numbers of cyclists ‘riders’ can be a worrying sight, especially when many of them do not follow the regulations of the Road Traffic Act.

Perhaps, the main issue lies in the discrepancies in the use of the word “bike”. In Singapore, the word ‘bike’ may refer to motorbikes, or bicycle, and is often used interchangeably in description. However, on UberEats’ website, there is no mention of bicycles, but only for motorcycles, and an insistence of a license and insurance requirement, while FoodPanda indicates “We will provide a bike if needed”.

Meanwhile, Deliveroo doesn’t seem to have indicated its requirements much on its career opportunities page. Why then, are they allowing cyclists, who are not adhering to the laws, to be making deliveries in Singapore.

Moot point: It is dangerous to be delivering on a bicycle.

Traffic is heavy in Singapore, and for cyclists making food deliveries, it is immensely pressurizing to have to cycle on the roads amidst the traffic while and making sure the deliveries are made on time. Too often, cyclists have been spotted on pedestrian pathways to avoid the peak hour traffic, or narrowly missing an accident when trying to navigate their way around their destination, and sometimes, becoming the hurdle for which bus drivers have to be aware of.

On this rainy Saturday, a delivery cyclist from UberEats was spotted in the middle lane of Victoria Street, without a helmet (please do not tell me a flimsy cap counts as a helmet), nor safety gears of any kind and with his earpiece on. That is a three-in-one violation of the law.

Of course, he does not represent all that make up the delivery cyclists community, as evidenced by the other UberEats cyclist next to him who had a helmet on, but if just one person’s life was jeopardized because of such a silly and completely avoidable mistake, then it is a life wasted.

Before any disastrous incident involving these food delivery cyclists happen, stricter regulations should be made pertaining to these cyclists, not to deprive them of their livelihood, but to ensure they protect themselves from endangering themselves.

With all this talk about electric scooters becoming a nuisance on walkways and roads, it seems like Singapore has a habit of waiting for an issue big enough to stir controversy before deciding to implement policies to prevent history from repeating itself.

However, this time, instead of enacting policies and legislations only in response to something that happened, perhaps taking a pre-emptive action on such possibilities is more advisable? Especially when we know these possibilities are not mere metaphorical, but one of shared lived experiences.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth
Labour

Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth

01/02/2023
Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud
Business

Market ignores Adani’s 413-paged rebuttal against Hindenburg’s allegation and continues the sell-off

01/02/2023
Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal
Singapore

Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal

01/02/2023
One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash
AFP

One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash

31/01/2023
Japan and NATO pledge ‘firm’ response to China, Russia threats
AFP

Japan and NATO pledge ‘firm’ response to China, Russia threats

31/01/2023
Japanese junior high school sprinter breaks another record in prefectural race
Japan

Japanese junior high school sprinter breaks another record in prefectural race

31/01/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth

Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth

01/02/2023
Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Market ignores Adani’s 413-paged rebuttal against Hindenburg’s allegation and continues the sell-off

01/02/2023
Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal

Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal

01/02/2023
One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash

One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash

31/01/2023
Japan and NATO pledge ‘firm’ response to China, Russia threats

Japan and NATO pledge ‘firm’ response to China, Russia threats

31/01/2023
Japanese junior high school sprinter breaks another record in prefectural race

Japanese junior high school sprinter breaks another record in prefectural race

31/01/2023
Malaysia PM stressed the need for people to be allowed to effectively and actively participate in civil society

Malaysia PM stressed the need for people to be allowed to effectively and actively participate in civil society

31/01/2023
Million-dollar overpayments made by various ministries, public agencies highlighted in sampled audit by Auditor-General Office amongst various lapses

Singapore ranked least corrupt country in Asia, fifth in the world

31/01/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
19

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
66

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
58

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

November 2016
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  
« Oct   Dec »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz