Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has filed an ordinance with the City Council to require the largest food delivery apps such as DoorDash, UberEats, and GrubHub to obtain permits to operate within the city and provide proof of insurance.
The permit would require the companies to have liability insurance coverage for all drivers using their platform, including those using motorcycles, mopeds, and electric scooters, and to share aggregate data on delivery trips.
The ordinance is focused on the largest third-party delivery providers that are responsible for large volumes of traffic in certain areas of the city, particularly at certain times of day. The ordinance does not apply to small businesses with a small number of delivery drivers or other types of deliveries, such as those made by FedEx, UPS, or Amazon.
Wu said the ordinance is meant to address growing resident complaints around public safety by this emerging industry. Residents called in 105 reports about increased traffic and congestion, illegal double parking, as well unsafe delivery drivers on scooters, mopeds, motorbikes, and e-bikes in 2024. At least 475 mopeds were towed, impounded, or seized last year, according to the city.
To obtain a permit, delivery companies would have to submit proof of adequate insurance coverage for operators and share data pertaining to deliveries, including on types of vehicles drivers use and routes they take.
Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» coverage would be required for liability, personal injury, collision, and medical payment if any uninsured or underinsured driver is involved in a crash and would need to cover drivers using all modes of transportation. Currently, delivery companies are not required to have insurance to protect uninsured or underinsured drivers.
“This ordinance is an important step toward making app deliveries safer for our city’s pedestrians and drivers on our streets, and toward ensuring delivery app drivers have insurance coverage from the large, national companies they work for,” said Mayor Wu. “As this new technology continues to develop, we want to make sure Boston is leading the way in safe and efficient regulation.”
The city hopes that the data submitted by delivery companies will reveal the types of vehicles used to complete deliveries, which restaurants experience the highest number of orders, and where and how quickly trips are completed, including routes that drivers make using illegal turns.
Franklin-Hodge, Boston’s chief of streets, said the hope is to incentive these companies to encourage safer driving instead of the current incentive, which Hodge says is “speed at all costs.”
Hodge said the data the city collects data will allow it to “plan for the impacts of food delivery, rather than just reacting to double parking, unsafe operation, or congestion made worse by a high volume of deliveries.”
Topics Personal Auto
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