Delivery chaos!

Chaos on the roads, caused by delivery companies that rely on convoys of motorcycles. You find them in droves, parked haphazardly in front of restaurant sidewalks, and others occupying parking spaces near vital facilities, waiting for any order they can pick up.

The chaos of (delivery) is no longer limited to parking lots, but has extended to the roads and inside neighborhoods. They jostle vehicles with recklessness and acrobatics, one driving on the left lane of the roads, and another dodging between vehicles as if he were in a (Formula) race aiming for first place.

They roam freely, as far as the eye can see, amidst the absence of any oversight from delivery companies that fail to select or train their drivers on customer service or traffic regulations. These companies have neglected to educate them on work ethics and ensure they receive health cards to safeguard their well-being and that of their customers, thus preventing the transmission of infectious diseases.

The majority are dissatisfied

The National Center for Public Opinion Polls revealed in its latest poll that 66% of the sample surveyed witnessed reckless driving behavior by delivery drivers, while the same poll showed that 59% of the same sample were dissatisfied with the way delivery drivers drive motorcycles, and that 49% of the sample were involved in or witnessed a traffic accident in which a delivery driver was one of the parties, while 64% believe that the delivery drivers themselves do not observe safety standards in their motorcycle driving.

Abdulwahid Al-Zahrani believes that the roles played by the Transport Authority and delivery companies need to be scrutinized, as they are limited to permits and uniforms. Therefore, they should be extended to larger roles, the most important of which is the security aspect, and not violating residency and work regulations, so that delivery drivers adhere to working for their sponsors and not for others or for their own account. Also, great attention should be paid to issuing health cards for delivery drivers, to ensure that they are free of diseases and do not transmit them to others. He stressed that many of them do not know how to deal with customers or respect traffic regulations, and the work system in delivery services must be more professional.

Have you educated them?

Naif Al-Sahli points out that what delivery drivers are doing is actually chaos that needs to be regulated and made more professional, starting with obligating them to respect the right of way and not occupy parking spaces and respect the rights of the road, up to how they deal with customers.

Al-Sahli emphasizes that the lack of interest by delivery applications in training and educating the delivery person is reflected in what we see on the roads in their poor driving of their bicycles, the way they park next to shops, and their failure to adhere to a uniform. It is also necessary to impose the issuance of a health card for them.

He pointed out that the security authorities are making great efforts through intensive campaigns, but the roles played by the General Authority for Roads need to be strict in obliging them to comply with the regulations. What we see of the lines of workers in the field of delivery orders is alarming, as most of them are expatriate workers whose spread raises suspicion. What professions are listed for them in their residency permits? Do they work for their sponsors? Do this huge number of workers in the field of delivery orders have valid residency permits and motorcycle driving licenses?

For her part, Mona Al-Sharif calls for the need to regulate the delivery sector, raise the efficiency of drivers and the services they provide, obligate them to wear uniforms, provide them with safety equipment to protect them, and train them on how to deal with customers, in order to increase the level of reliability and safety in the activity.

"Resources" intervenes

رصدنا نشاط توصيل الطلبات أفضى إلى كشف مخالفات يرتكبها العاملون في هذا المجال أبرزها التهور في قيادة الدراجات والانحراف المفاجئ وعدم الالتزام بالمسارات، والقيادة في المسار الأيسر للطريق والمراوغة بين المركبات، وعدم التزام بعضهم بارتداء وسائل الحماية والسلامة، والوقوف على خطوط وممرات المشاة، وافتراش مواقف السيارات، واستخدام الأجهزة المحمولة اثناء القيادة، كما يخالف عدد منهم نظام الإقامة والعمل بالعمل لحسابهم الخاص أو بنظام العمولة.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has confirmed that the penalties for intermediary applications when employing a non-Saudi worker, or enabling electronic platforms to allow a non-Saudi worker to work directly through the electronic collaborative platform, are a fine of 20,000 riyals and are multiplied according to the number of workers.

The penalty for electronic platforms not adhering to the approved mechanism for verifying that a worker is not working under the name of other people is set at ten thousand riyals and is multiplied according to the number of workers.

A fine of 50,000 riyals will be imposed on platforms and operating establishments that fail to provide the required data, and this amount will be multiplied by the number of employees. A fine of 5,000 riyals will be imposed for providing incorrect employee data, and this amount will also be multiplied by the number of employees.

Face verification feature

The Public Transport Authority issued several regulatory decisions in the delivery sector to regulate and govern the industry, improve driver efficiency and service quality, and enhance reliability and safety. The decisions include a gradual 14-month requirement for non-Saudis to work for light transport companies, as well as the implementation of several enabling measures. These include allowing advertising on light transport vehicles, establishing regulations for the use of motorcycles in delivery services in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, and requiring companies operating in the sector to implement facial recognition technology for their drivers through a system directly linked to the Public Transport Authority. The decisions also include the adoption of a uniform for non-Saudi delivery workers.

Gradual decisions

The authority revealed gradual stages for implementing its decisions in regulating the delivery sector. It will begin activating delivery services for non-Saudi drivers through light transport companies, while continuing to allow freelance work for citizens and gradually preventing non-Saudis from freelance work according to regions. In addition, it will implement the decision enablers, which include setting controls for the use of motorcycles in delivering orders, applying the uniform for workers in the activity, and allowing advertisements on light transport vehicles.

The authority stated that the decisions, in their entirety, aim to regulate and govern the order delivery sector effectively, in addition to motivating Saudis to work in this activity, which will contribute to increasing job opportunities and developing the services provided in the field to become more effective and efficient and meet the expectations of beneficiaries in order to achieve the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics.

uniform

The Authority, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, issued regulations for organizing the use of bicycles, which include general requirements, registration requirements and technical specifications for the bicycle, in addition to the duties of the driver and the geographical area in which he practices the activity, noting that the regulations include obtaining a valid operating card, not loading the bicycle with orders of weights and dimensions that affect road users, and not practicing the activity on roads prohibited by the General Directorate of Traffic and the Public Transport Authority.

The authority explained that issuing the regulations comes within the framework of efforts to ensure the quality of services in the delivery sector, protect consumer rights, and reduce traffic risks associated with the increasing use of bicycles in delivering orders, stressing that compliance with them contributes to providing a safe and organized environment that helps achieve a better delivery experience for both consumers and drivers.

The authority has adopted a uniform for non-Saudi drivers, consisting of two models. The first is a uniform for those working directly for companies licensed in the light transport sector, and the second is a uniform specific to establishments providing delivery services through applications, after the design has been approved by the Public Transport Authority. Saudi drivers are required to adhere to the regulations for maintaining public decency, which contributes to a unified appearance and enhances the professional image of those working in this sector. The authority indicates that uniformity contributes to providing high-quality service and enhances reliability and safety in the delivery sector.

Warning to the cover-up

Lawyer Abdulaziz bin Dabshi warned against violating the Labor and Residence Law and the Commercial Concealment Law, and warned against enabling a non-Saudi to work for his own account through a Saudi or foreign investor in an activity prohibited to him, whether by using his name, license, commercial registration, vehicle, or in any other way.

Bin Dabshi confirmed that the penalty for an expatriate who works for himself is a fine of up to 50,000 riyals, imprisonment for up to six months, and deportation from the Kingdom. Also, an employer who allows his workers to work for himself or in exchange for sums of money that they pay him, is punished with a fine of five thousand riyals and imprisonment for one month, and the second time with a fine of 20,000 riyals and imprisonment for two months, and the third time with a fine of 50,000 riyals and imprisonment for three months.

Lawyer Abdulaziz bin Dabshi explained that in all cases, the fine is multiplied by the number of workers with whom the violation occurred, and the violating expatriate is deported at his own expense, and is banned from bringing in workers for a period of no less than one year for the first time, two years for the second time, and three years for the third time.

Imprisonment, fine, and deportation

Lawyer Majed Al-Ahmari confirmed that a resident who works for someone other than the employer or works for himself is subject to a financial penalty, suspension, and deportation to his country.

He also warned against an expatriate employing another expatriate for the benefit of an employer other than the original employer. If the employer is an expatriate residing in the Kingdom, he shall be punished with a fine of five thousand riyals or imprisonment for a month or both, with termination of his residency and deportation from the Kingdom. If the employer is a citizen, he shall be punished the first time with a fine of five thousand riyals, the second time with a fine of 10 thousand riyals or imprisonment for a month or both, and the third time with a fine of 20 thousand riyals or imprisonment for three months or both.

Al-Ahmari stressed that the system confirmed that it is not permissible for an employer to let his worker work for someone else, or let him work for his own account, and this is considered an act of commercial concealment, which exposes its perpetrator to serious violations for the sponsor and his sponsored person, and its penalties reach imprisonment for a period of five years or a financial fine of up to five million riyals or both together, and the confiscation of the illegal assets and funds of the perpetrators of the crime of concealment.

6069 motorcycles violated traffic laws

The General Directorate of Traffic urged motorcyclists to adhere to traffic regulations and safety requirements when riding in residential areas or on main roads. They emphasized the importance of wearing a helmet that meets safety standards, ensuring the motorcycle license plate is properly affixed, staying in designated lanes and avoiding crossing between lanes, observing speed limits, and maintaining a safe following distance. Traffic departments across the Kingdom announced a field campaign to apprehend violating motorcycles from Sunday, December 1st to Saturday, December 7th. The number of motorcycles found in violation was as follows: Riyadh region 3,028; Jeddah 1,765; Mecca 405; Eastern Province 369; Medina 125; Hail 101; Asir 77; Najran 44; Al-Baha 15; Al-Qurayyat 7; Northern Borders 9; Qassim 24; Tabuk 10; Jazan 38; Al-Jawf 1; and Taif 51.

Starting with 4 regions

The Public Transport Authority announced the start of the first phase of decisions to regulate the delivery sector through three decisions that include obligating non-Saudis working in delivery applications to join one of the companies licensed in the light transport activity in four regions of the Kingdom as a first phase, while restricting freelance work to Saudis, in addition to issuing regulations to organize the use of bicycles in deliveries in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, and adopting a uniform for drivers.

The authority indicated that obligating non-Saudi drivers to work in licensed light transport companies will begin in four regions as a first phase, namely: Al-Baha, Jazan, Najran, and the Northern Borders.