Delivering food comes at great personal cost for riders

Tired of turning in applications and turning up at job interviews only to be rejected, Waheed Khan pinned his hopes on a food delivery job to help his family’s rapidly deteriorating financial situation.

The 28-year-old who hails from Peshawar had not imagined that life after graduating university would involve overspeeding and manoeuvring his motorcycle around cars on the provincial capital’s choked roads just so people could get their food in a timely fashion.

Waheed’s employer is one of the bigger fast-food chains in the city and inflow of orders remains high throughout the day; a key reason for which is the 25 to 30 minute delivery time they promise their customers. However, meeting this timeline is a near impossibility as per Waheed. “It often takes 45 to 50 minutes. Peshawar’s traffic and the four signals from University Road to Haji Camp Bus Stand - including Aman Chowk, Shami Road, Army Stadium Chowk - do not give one any chance of making a quick delivery.”

Given the chaotic traffic, delivery riders like Waheed are always under immense pressure to be freaky fast or face the axe. “In the process of ensuring a speedy delivery if I get into an accident there is no insurance of any kind from the company. So I have to take risks to not get fired and if I get injured then I am on my own,” a despondent Waheed informed.

For the near herculean shift that Waheed puts in daily the remuneration is a measly Rs 17,000 - which is Rs 4,000 below the provincial minimum wage. “Riders working for big companies and international food chains who get commissions for every delivery have it better than us,” Waheed lamented.

However, what Waheed considers better is actually a depressing state of affairs, as per a rider who is associated with a well-known company that offers everything from grocery to food delivery. “Most of the riders are under immense stress because of the pressure of making fast deliveries to earn a commission,” the rider informed under the condition of anonymity. He said that often riders have to violate traffic rules to be on time because not doing so meant incurring penalties from the company.

Saleem, another rider who works for another large commercial entity that delivers food and non-food items, concurring about the pressures of the job, said that it was a miserable industry. “Riders have to bring their own motorcycles. The measly commissions we make go towards fuel expenses which we are responsible for bearing. Mostly we have to rely on tips by customers to get by during the month.” When asked if the company provides any insurance, Saleem snickered. “None of these corporations can pay a living wage why would they pay health or accident insurance?” An irate Saleem then went on to say that the companies did not actually care about their employees regardless of what they showed on social media. “More than half of the riders are depressed.”

Dr Khalid Mufti, a psychologist based in Peshawar, when asked about the depression that flows from such a risky work environment, said, “the low salaries and the pressure of being on time produces stress hormones and ruins an individual physically and mentally.” Narrating the story of one of his patients, who was a rider, Dr Khalid said, “the poor boy was severely reprimanded for failing to meet his daily targets. It had such an adverse effect on his mental state that he tried to commit suicide. Thankfully the attempt failed but he is still recovering.”

The Express Tribune also spoke with the general manager of an international fast food chain to inquire about rider safety, who under the condition of anonymity informed that the company took the health of riders seriously. “We only allow them to work 9 hours and pay them Rs 21,000 a month along with offering accidental insurance at Peshawar’s top hospitals.”

Waheed, the rider, states that a select few companies might offer all these too good to be true perks but only riders could offer a true account. “The 50 food delivery boys who work with me all live in miserable conditions and the only benefit that we get which lights up our eyes is the tips.”