08 January 2025
In October 2024, online food delivery platform Swiggy launched a 10-minute food delivery service called Bolt in select areas and cities, including Bengaluru. The service promised to deliver certain (pre-prepared) food items and beverages in a mere 10 minutes to an ever-expanding customer base already used to having food delivered within 30 minutes to an hour. Swiggy, which made a market debut in mid-November, successfully did what its rival Zomato could not pull off two years ago. In the week that Swiggy went IPO, the Bengaluru police – concerned about rising complaints against delivery personnel for reckless driving – booked more than 17,000 cases against them for various traffic violations.
The competition has become intense among delivery platforms to offer the shortest possible delivery times. Weeks after Swiggy announced its 10-minute delivery variant, grocery delivery services Blinkit and Zepto launched similar services, followed by Amazon India pledging 15-minute deliveries for goods. Even Myntra, a fashion e-commerce company, gave in to the pressure of faster delivery by promising 30-minute deliveries for fashion and beauty products.
But little is being talked about the ‘foot soldiers’—the lakhs of last-mile delivery personnel driving the gig economy and conversely bearing the brunt of aggressive company strategies. While these innovations were marketed as consumer-friendly conveniences, they placed immense pressure on delivery partners, often forcing them to operate under precarious conditions.
The foremost casualty for a gig worker for the promised faster delivery has been safe driving. In one week of November alone, Bengaluru traffic police registered 17,218 cases against all delivery personnel, including wrong-side driving, not wearing helmets, and jumping signals. Spot fines amounting to nearly Rs 80 lakh were levied over this period. On November 9, 2,670 violations were recorded, with riding without helmets topping the list.
Police are cracking down on these violations due to the significant threats they pose to the safety of all road users, including delivery agents themselves. According to the police, delivery agents for food aggregators and quick-service platforms often face pressure to meet tight deadlines to earn bonuses or daily fees, pushing them to violate traffic rules.
In October 2024, online food delivery platform Swiggy launched a 10-minute food delivery service called Bolt in select areas and cities, including Bengaluru. The service promised to deliver certain (pre-prepared) food items and beverages in a mere 10 minutes to an ever-expanding customer base already used to having food delivered within 30 minutes to an hour. Swiggy, which made a market debut in mid-November, successfully did what its rival Zomato could not pull off two years ago. In the week that Swiggy went IPO, the Bengaluru police – concerned about rising complaints against delivery personnel for reckless driving – booked more than 17,000 cases against them for various traffic violations. The competition has become intense among delivery platforms to offer the shortest possible delivery times. Weeks after Swiggy announced its 10-minute delivery variant, grocery delivery services Blinkit and Zepto launched similar services, followed by Amazon India pledging 15-minute deliveries for goods. Even Myntra, a fashion e-commerce company, gave in to the pressure of faster delivery by promising 30-minute deliveries for fashion and beauty products. But little is being talked about the ‘foot soldiers’—the lakhs of last-mile delivery personnel driving the gig economy and conversely bearing the brunt of aggressive company strategies. While these innovations were marketed as consumer-friendly conveniences, they placed immense pressure on delivery partners, often forcing them to operate under precarious conditions. The foremost casualty for a gig worker for the promised faster delivery has been safe driving. In one week of November alone, Bengaluru traffic police registered 17,218 cases against all delivery personnel, including wrong-side driving, not wearing helmets, and jumping signals. Spot fines amounting to nearly Rs 80 lakh were levied over this period. On November 9, 2,670 violations were recorded, with riding without helmets topping the list. Police are cracking down on these violations due to the significant threats they pose to the safety of all road users, including delivery agents themselves. According to the police, delivery agents for food aggregators and quick-service platforms often face pressure to meet tight deadlines to earn bonuses or daily fees, pushing them to violate traffic rules.
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