Bengaluru Police Register 17,218 Cases, Collect 66.48 Lakh Fine From Swiggy, Zomato Delivery Boys

e-Commerce, and home delivery-based online stores are gaining immense popularity in India. We have reached a point where Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, and Dunzo have become integral parts of our lives. These app-based services require two-wheeler deliveries to end customers. In a recent turn of events, Bengaluru police registered 17,218 traffic violation cases and collected a total of 66.48 Lakh in fines, in the past week alone.

As per reports, these delivery agents were charged for offences like wrong-side riding, jumping signals and not wearing helmets. On the 9th of November, 2,670 cases were recorded. These were from across the city and the major portion of it was for riding without a helmet.

781 instances had the rider not wearing a helmet at the time of penalizing while in 643 cases, the pillion was not wearing helmet. 404 cases were registered against delivery partners who rode on roads marked as ‘No Entry’. These charges amounted to a total collected fine of 13.78 lakh.

On November 11, 5979 cases were registered and Rs 30.57 lakh was collected in spot fine. This time, most cases were against pillion riders not wearing helmets. The next most committed offence was parking in no-parking zones and finally riding/ parking in no-entry areas. On November 12, another 4,276 cases were registered. Finally, on November 15, 4293 cases were registered and a fine of 22.13 lakh was levied.

Cops And Food Delivery Partners: Getting More Clarity

So why are the cops being so hard on delivery agents? The core reason remains the unhealthy riding practices followed by them. In scenarios like food and medicine deliveries, the time gap between placing the order and getting the product delivered is of supreme importance. Partners often get rewarded with bonus points and additional tips for ‘early fulfilments’. This time-sensitive nature of their job is something that drives Swiggy and Zomato delivery partners into committing violations like wrong side and reckless riding.

The time-sensitive nature of the business and the existing road and traffic scenarios cannot be changed. However, delivery agents attempting rash riding is a potential threat to the safety of others on the road, along with that of the agent and pillion.

In Bengaluru, many food and quick-service delivery partners have already made the transition to electric vehicles. Many of them have chosen low speed electric scooters for the purpose. This makes sense financially, as they do not need registration or a valid driving license to use, are very affordable in comparison, and come with powertrains that suffice for daily delivery runs.

The delivery agents often take these EVs to the footpaths and ride against the flow, or even jump signals. Many do this thinking that the general motor vehicle rules do not apply to these EVs. This misconception could also be due to the fact that these vehicles are exempted from getting registration plates or demanding a valid DL.

The Motor Vehicle Act 1988 do not mandate the use of helmets on electric bikes below 30cc, just as they are exempted from requiring registration or driving license. Thus the cops cannot book these for the rider not using helmets or for not having documents. It should however be noted that the use of helmets is recommended for ensuring rider and pillion safety.

However, low-speed electric bikes can be booked for riding on footpaths, footpath parking, no entry, riding against one-way, traffic signal jumping etc. The authorities now plan to raise more awareness and impose more fines to bring the violation counts down. More drives will be organized from the cops’ end.