Boston’s New Food Delivery Ordinance Eats Into Drivers’ Earnings, Jobs

Food delivery service drivers in Boston are feeling the pinch from new city rules that took effect during the week of April 13.

The rules, put in place to curb dangerous driving, now require major third-party delivery service providers to obtain permits to operate in Boston. These companies must also hold liability insurance that protects their drivers, other motorists, and pedestrians in the event of an accident. The ordinance, approved last year, was instituted on April 11.

Boston's new policy subjects major food delivery platforms like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash to permits and potential fines for operating without them.

According to a Boston Globe report, since the new rules emphasize financial protection, drivers could face consequences, according to urban traffic experts concerned with third-party delivery logistics. Researchers note that the new ordinance doesn't prevent these companies from passing some of the insurance costs onto their drivers, thereby eating into their earnings.

City officials argue the ordinance provides needed oversight and represents the strongest safety-focused regulation among major U.S. cities.

If a delivery driver does not have a personal vehicle insurance policy or is underinsured, the company's liability insurance must also cover the courier in the event of an accident, according to the ordinance.

City Councilor Sharon Durkan, chair of the Boston City Council's committee on planning, development, and transportation, said that companies such as Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash were previously operating in Boston without any guardrails to protect the public. Durkan cited police data that reveals, in many cases, drivers were working for the companies without licenses or insurance.

“These drivers are being incentivized to drive faster, unsafely, and these are really dangerous jobs that aren't sold as dangerous jobs,” Durkan said in a statement to the Globe.

Of the big three, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash, only Grubhub has a permit, Durkan noted.

Through a company spokesperson, Uber Eats noted it is working to align its operations with the new regulations.

DoorDash also recently submitted a permit application.

According to the Globe, delivery companies that operate without a city permit could face fines of “$300 per day per restaurant” or “$300 per order,” the ordinance states.

Researchers and urban planners, however, have expressed uncertainty about whether the insurance requirements will improve safety or unintentionally encourage riskier driving or earnings-cutting behaviors.

Shauna Brail, an urban planning professor and director of the Institute for Management & Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga, noted that it's unclear how Boston officials will enforce compliance with the permit requirements. 

Boston's union for ride-share and third-party delivery drivers has not publicly commented on the matter.