Boston council presses delivery app companies to tighten vehicle safety requirements

BOSTON -- July 9, 2024, Boston council demands stricter oversight of delivery mopeds and food app platforms. The City Council's Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation, chaired by Councillor Sharon Durkan, held a hearing July 9 on Docket 0303, examining the safety hazards of unregistered delivery motorcycles and micromobility vehicles on city streets. Chief of Streets Franklin Hodge told councillors that major food delivery platforms responded "disappointingly" to a city letter demanding accountability, noting that DoorDash requires drivers to photograph their delivery bags but lets them self-certify vehicle registration by checking a box, "there's more work being done to prevent soggy pizza than to prevent uninsured driving." Hodge called for state legislation mandating vehicle registration checks, insurance verification, account-sharing restrictions, a driver wage floor, and impact fees on delivery companies, citing a Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimate that app-based food deliveries in Massachusetts now outnumber ride-hail trips nearly three to one. Boston logged 3,006 traffic injuries and 10 fatalities in 2023, and Councillor Enrique J. Pepén noted that his district has already seen a fatality at Washington Street and Baxley Road in Roslindale linked to the problem.