SINGAPORE \u2013 Delivery riders say many of them are likely to continue to fulfil as many orders as possible in their push to earn more income, even as a work group has been formed to explore ways to improve their safety.<\/p>\n
When Mr Leck Jun You, 41, became a delivery rider in 2018, he tried to fulfil more than 50 orders a day to maximise his earnings. <\/p>\n
He rode his motorcycle for about 12 hours every day to rack up deliveries for weekly bonus payouts.<\/p>\n
In 2020, he was involved in an accident that landed him with a fractured right hand and caused him to have a serious concussion.<\/p>\n
Upon reflection, he felt as if he was putting his life at risk in the pursuit of money. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince earnings are piecemeal and based on each delivery, it\u2019s only natural that riders try to take on more jobs and complete them as quickly as possible,\u201d said Mr Leck.<\/p>\n
This instinct comes with serious risks. In 2025, two delivery riders died and more than 60 suffered major injuries, which can lead to amputation and paralysis, according to a report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on March 25<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n The annual workplace safety and health figures, which included non-fatal injury figures among platform workers for the first time, showed that delivery riders made up the bulk of such workers \u2013 out of 74 platform workers who had major injuries, 62 of them were making deliveries.<\/p>\n As for the 1,277 who had minor injuries, 763, or more than half, were delivery riders. <\/p>\n Those on two wheels were found to be more prone to injuries, the ministry said, prompting the formation of the work group, which was announced on March 25.<\/p>\n The initiative will bring together representatives from government agencies, platform operators, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and platform work associations.<\/p>\n Describing the statistics as concerning, NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling, who is also an adviser to three platform work associations, said on March 25: \u201cNTUC has been telling platform companies to review their incentive schemes, because the welfare of workers cannot be the price of faster deliveries, longer hours or unsafe conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Legislation may not be enough to improve the situation, said delivery riders. Customer expectations would have to change, too.<\/p>\n While Mr Leck now does only about 10 deliveries a day, as he is no longer a full-time delivery rider, others still say they are often driven by financial incentives and customer expectations to complete jobs as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n One of them, Mr James Tan, 32, said riders are intrinsically motivated to make deliveries quickly to earn more.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a bit like a game, where if you fulfil more deliveries, you can earn bonuses, too. So, of course, people will want to do things fast.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, customers also expect their orders to be delivered quickly, he said, citing how people use delivery services for convenience and have become used to certain expectations. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you come home from work and order dinner, you would want it to get to you as soon as possible, right? If it comes late, you give a lower rating; so again, there\u2019s pressure for us to be fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Unless these expectations change, he thinks it is unlikely that riders will slow down. He added that he has had several close calls while making deliveries, typically in the rain. <\/p>\n Some solutions that the work group will explore include improving the detection and deterrence of unsafe road behaviour, as well as incentivising safe practices.<\/p>\n Delivery rider Luqmanul Hakim Othman, 28, said the formation of the work group is a step in the right direction, because the group will be able to get feedback from platform workers and have a better understanding of key issues. He pointed to other developments that were aimed at granting platform workers greater protections.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n