As fuel prices get dearer, app-based delivery persons, like everyone else, have been feeling the pinch in their pockets. With no immediate relief in sight, and keeping in mind the financial status of delivery agents, companies like Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo are taking the initiative to include electric vehicles (EVs) in their fleet. Delivery partners too are opting to rent EVs now.
“Normally, I have to spend almost ₹500 per day for fuel expenses, which weighs heavily on my meagre income. The food aggregators leave us with less money after receiving their commissions. I’ve been using an electric bike that I can rent for a week at ₹1,200 and I don’t need to worry about maintenance or repair. I can even change the bike whenever I want,” said Shoaid Ahmed, a delivery agent.
Uttam Halder, another delivery executive, said, “It is feasible to travel for kilometres with the use of EVs. I feel renting one will be more pocket-friendly than actually buying it.”
Shaik Salauddin, national general secretary of Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), said the per-km charges that delivery partners are being paid by the company are the same, but the per-km charges that they incur have increased.
“Therefore, their earnings after deducting fuel price have reduced and expenses have increased. The lower food delivery cost is not because of some technological magic wand, but rather shifting costs on to the delivery workers. In the case of fuel price rise, certainly all these transport workers are made into absorbers of inflation by these companies. The government is out of price-setting equation either explicitly or tacitly in this sector,” Mr. Shaik lamented.
A Swiggy spokesperson explained how the company is pushing for EV adoption: “Understanding how the volatility in fuel prices impacts the earnings of our delivery executives, we have been pioneering the need for increased adoption of EVs in the fleet and believe making deliveries through EVs will lower the running cost of vehicles by up to 40%, leading to higher earnings for our delivery executives. Over the last year, we have been running numerous pilots with partners like TVS, JioBP, and Hero Electric to identify how we can make EV adoption easier and more profitable for our delivery executives.”
Mr. Shaik said the delivery workers deserve a long overdue revision in their basic fare and per-km charges.
”The company should pass on such increased charges to customers and not let poor delivery workers suffer for it. Revise the basic per order pay to ₹35 and increase the per-km delivery charge to ₹10. Both Swiggy and Zomato have plans to turn its fleet into electric. It might be good for publicity and the environment. But such move should not be used to further squeeze the earnings of delivery workers,” he added.
Delivery executives drive long distances to deliver numerous orders and that definitely leads to an increase in consumption of fuel, resulting in draining out their daily earning over petrol expenses.
“We have introduced long-distance return pay where for every long-distance order that is completed, the delivery partner would either receive another order within 15 minutes (bringing them back closer to their base areas of working) or they will receive an extra payout for travelling the extra distance. That said, we are actively working to build a more sustainable delivery ecosystem for our delivery partners and the environment with our EV and instant initiatives,” said a spokesperson from Zomato.
A few companies are also looking at switching to a safer and more sustainable option for their delivery partners.
“While we are exploring EV related options and other models to bring down costs for our partners, the absence of a strong and safe alternative means that there is no widely applicable alternative yet. We are experimenting with different models of ownership and different form factors, like EVs but only time will tell which emerges as a safe and sustainable option. Above all, we will not compromise on the experience and earnings of our delivery partners,” stated a Dunzo spokesperson.
