Joint effort under way to ease common delivery woes across S'pore

Whenever foodpanda rider Keith Ong has to deliver food to condominiums here during a downpour, both he and the food are likely to get drenched.

- Kok Yufeng

Many condos here require delivery riders who use electric bicycles to leave their two-wheelers outside and walk in, often without much shelter along the way, said the 57-year-old.

Mr Ng Gan Poh, 33, who has been delivering food for eight years, said going to Orchard Road or the Central Business District means paying high parking fees as some malls do not have grace periods for deliverymen.

As the e-commerce sector grows, these are among the issues that a tripartite workgroup led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working to resolve.

The pain points were identified in three recent surveys that polled more than 2,000 delivery workers in total, covering their experiences at 416 condominiums, 153 malls and 112 office developments across the island.

The surveys were conducted between December 2023 and May 2024 by the workgroup formed last November to look at how last-mile deliveries here can be safer and more efficient.

Armed with insights from the poll, the workgroup, comprising representatives from the labour movement, industry associations and government agencies, is now conducting a series of engagement exercises to find potential solutions that will eventually be showcased at an exhibition at the end of the year to encourage greater adoption.

The possible solutions being explored include converting existing spaces into waiting areas for delivery riders, extending parking grace periods, and installing common lockers to consolidate parcel collection, URA and LTA said in a statement.