Mumbai: Online platform-based food deliverers have more worries for them on the platter than just making timely delivery of hot and fresh food. The reason? The Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) recently decided to pull the plug on the roads congested by their vehicles and their rash driving.
Likewise, the MTP will tighten the screws on the delivery boys if spotted crowding the roads outside malls. In a recently-held meeting with the management of popular city malls, the traffic police instructed them that delivery men should either be moved onto premises or not be ‘served’ at all.
A senior traffic official said since all the shopping malls have food courts on the premises, it becomes an easy hub for app-based food delivery men to pick up the orders and get going. However, to do so, they park their vehicles right at the doors of the malls, congesting the roads adjacent to the shopping hubs, creating unnecessary traffic snarls.
“The delivery men wait near the staff entrance, as they aren’t allowed upstairs. After they inform the restaurant of their arrival, food is prepared and a staffer delivers the parcel to the delivery men downstairs. As a result, they park their vehicles on the road and congest it. Parking on the footpath is anyway an offence,” said a senior officer, requesting anonymity.
To find with a way out, the MTP has suggested the delivery men be given a designated parking space, which will decongestant roads. “As the executives were denied parking spaces, they had parked two-wheelers on roads outside malls, leading to traffic jams, especially in the western suburbs. After a discussion with the management of the shopping malls, we have asked them to either stop online ordering from food courts and restaurants or provide a parking space,” said a traffic officer on the condition of confidentiality.
The meeting was held with managements of 10 popular malls in Malad, Goregaon, Andheri, Ghatkopar, Nariman Point, Kurla, Lower Parel and Chembur. It was also attended by representatives of food ordering and delivery platforms. Further, traffic police have begun a crackdown on the delivery boys who drive rashly and violate traffic rules, including the traffic signal jumping.
