Food delivery is big business right now and people love it, but Boston says it needs to be safer.
“We see people riding scooters running red lights. It’s like they’re not following the road laws,” one woman said.
The city has warned major companies like Uber, Grubhub and DoorDash to do more to police drivers, many of whom it says make deliveries on unregistered mopeds and scooters, and who have been seen running red lights, riding on sidewalks and speeding.
“We know that many of these drivers are just working hard to provide for their families and at the end of the day, companies need to be held accountable,” Mayor Michelle Wu said.
Stacey Thompson of the Livable Streets Alliance says the business model of these companies is part of the problem.
“They basically don’t care if these people have the right vehicles or not. They have to run as fast as they can to make money,” she said.
In a statement to NBC10 Boston, all of the businesses said safety is their top priority and they are willing to work with the city on these issues.
“As we have done many times before, we will continue to work with the city to educate couriers who use the Uber platform. At Uber, safety is always our top priority,” an Uber spokesperson wrote.
“While law enforcement is best left to police, we take safety seriously and will remove reports of unsafe driving from our platform,” Grubhub said in a statement.
“The vast majority of Dashers are doing the right thing and must obey traffic laws like any other driver. If they don’t, they will be penalized like any other driver,” DoorDash told NBC10 Boston.
