Boston cracks down on dangerous food delivery drivers for DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats
BOSTON - Boston is starting a crackdown on dangerous food delivery drivers and the city is demanding answers from the heads of DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats.
"Alarming increase" in dangerous delivery driving
Boston's police commissioner and chief of streets sent them a letter Monday saying there's been "an alarming increase in unlawful and dangerous operation of motorcycles, mopeds and motorized scooters by drivers offering delivery services for your companies."
The letter was addressed to DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, GrubHub CEO Howard Midgal and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the senior vice president of delivery for Uber. There has been no public response from them yet.
"Many of these drivers are operating unregistered vehicles. We have witnessed widespread and ongoing incidents of running red lights, driving on city sidewalks, driving the wrong way down one-way streets, driving at speeds in excess of posted limits, and collisions," the letter states. "This type of operation puts the delivery driver, and any pedestrian or driver of a motor vehicle who encounters them, in imminent danger."
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she's expecting the companies to hold their drivers accountable. The city has started sending out safety materials in 11 languages to drivers and restaurants.
"Going after illegal behavior"
"Our goal is to be very clear that we are going after illegal behavior," Wu told reporters Monday. "We're trying to go straight to the source and reaching out to the companies that employ drivers to ensure that they are implementing the standards that we need to see for safety."
The letter said dangerous drivers would be punished with fines. Some could have their licenses or vehicles taken away.
"It might be vehicles that should not be on the road, or it might be unlicensed illegal vehicles," Wu said.
The city wants the companies to answer these questions by Friday, June 7:
- How does your company verify that drivers are licensed, utilizing a properly registered vehicle(s), and do not have a history of unsafe driving?
- Regarding motorcycle, moped, and motorized scooter usage, what safety and regulatory training, safety testing and/or safety equipment do new and existing workers receive? Please prove Boston- and/or Massachusetts-specific training materials.
- How does your company track reported safety violations and what steps do you take to address driver behavior when safety issues are identified?
- How do you prevent account sharing by drivers or vehicle substitution that could result in unapproved drivers or vehicles being used?
- What other steps, if any, are you taking to ensure safe vehicle operations by your drivers?
- What data is available to help us understand your operations, volume of deliveries at locations throughout the city and the types of delivery vehicles used?
The mayor said it's important that Boston residents let the city know "where the key hot spots are."
"We're trying to go straight to the source and reaching out to the companies that employ drivers to ensure that they are implementing the standards that we need to see for safety," Wu told reporters.
Moped and scooter violations in Boston
WBZ obtained records showing from April 2022 to April 2024, police pulled over mopeds and scooters a total of 60 times across the entire city. More than half resulted in a warning or civil citation, with no criminal offense.
Fines can range from $25 to $100 for multiple offenses.
Police say they're working to educate drivers, reminding them they need registration stickers on mopeds, they need to wear helmets, and to stop at red lights.
Some say the police have not been visible enough. "When a police officer goes after a moped, they're not allowed to chase," said Back Bay resident Willy Charleton. "So, if the moped just keeps going, there's really not much the police officer can do."
"They're going down sidewalks, they're going down the wrong way on a one-way," said Matt Furey, who lives in the Back Bay.
Delivery companies respond
GrubHub sent a statement: "Any reports of unsafe driving will result in removal from our platform," it said.
A DoorDash spokesperson wrote, "we've been working closely with Boston city officials...including sending regular reminders of local regulations to Dashers."
Uber sent WBZ a statement saying Boston urged the company to push drivers to move from four-wheeled vehicles to two-wheeled vehicles to help ease traffic congestion. "...each new innovation is complex. As we have time and time again, we will work with the City to educate couriers that use the Uber platform."
