Road Safety and Accountability for Delivery Providers Ordinance

Over the past few years, we have seen rapid growth in vehicles for food delivery, mostly small motorcycles or mopeds. Full-size cars can create congestion with rampant double or unsafe parking while two-wheeled vehicles often operate unsafely and ignore the rules of the road. This has created a chaotic, unsafe feeling among residents when traveling in business districts. 311 reports relating to delivery vehicles have grown 200% since 2022. 

We believe that these requirements will meaningfully increase safe driving by delivery workers, and allow the Streets Cabinet to better respond to the challenges created by the growing demands of delivery.

By requiring that companies provide proof of insurance to operate within city limits, the companies will have a clear incentive to encourage safer driving to reduce their insurance premiums.

Boston does not have access to reliable data on where and when food deliveries are happening. Access to this information would allow the City to better design roadway configurations, tailor enforcement, and better manage the safe operations of our streets.

Every driver has a responsibility to follow the rules of the road and operate their vehicle safely. However, by prioritizing speed over safety, the delivery companies have created the wrong incentive for the individuals providing their services. The insurance requirements in this new ordinance hold the larger delivery companies accountable and encourage them to incentivize and educate drivers to operate safely and adhere to local traffic laws. This will ultimately protect drivers.

Currently, there are no guaranteed protections for residents if they are involved in a crash with an unregistered or uninsured delivery driver. Residents could be left without recourse and forced to pay for any damages out-of-pocket.

This past summer, Streets and BPD launched an education and enforcement campaign to inform drivers about their responsibility to register their two-wheeled vehicles and to follow the rules of the road. We have seen better adherence to those requirements and the City has followed through with increased enforcement, but we need to do more to address these safety concerns. 

Ensuring safety for our residents is our number one priority. While every driver of every vehicle is required to follow the law and operate safely,  some rules regarding motorcycles and mopeds are complex. BTD has been working closely with the BPD to create better awareness of the rules that apply to these vehicles. For example, while e-bikes, standing scooters, and mopeds may use our bike lanes for travel, motorcycles and large-engine seated scooters may not and should be traveling in the street. BPD has been working to address these moving violations, but the enforcement work remains challenging and ongoing.

Residents should report unsafe behaviors to 311. This allows us to better track and respond to areas with frequent issues with better curb management or increased enforcement. 

All emergencies should be reported to 911.