By Edwin Goh
AS the government plans to implement a p-hailing licence to regulate parcel delivery riders, one wonders about the rationale behind it and what it would achieve.
If the e-hailing licence introduced in 2018 is any indication, the p-hailing licence may require a rider to be a Malaysian or permanent resident, 21 years old and above, have the right driving licence, no criminal record, and may also have to pass a medical check, vehicle inspection and licensing exam.
One reason delivery riders engage in dangerous driving behaviour is the incentive structure of gig work: faster deliveries mean more gigs per hour, which means more income.
Positive customer ratings as well as the gig platform’s reward algorithm for completed gigs also incentivise riders to take more chances on the road.
Improving road safety among delivery riders will be better served by corralling gig platforms into devising measures to detect dangerous driving, such as in-app speedometers, and to integrate traffic rule compliance into their reward policies and algorithms.
Conventionally, an occupational licence is a regulatory tool used to protect consumers from incompetent or unscrupulous service providers.
In this regard, it makes sense to license e-hailing and taxi drivers, all of whom have consumers’ safety in their hands every time a passenger steps into their vehicle.
However, do p-hailing delivery riders have consumer safety repercussions as per e-hailing drivers?
Food order mix-ups are certainly aggravating, but the parcel delivery service is hardly life-threatening.
Even against cases of parcel theft, the incentive structure in-built into gig platforms will weed out such occurrences among delivery riders. The question remains then, in what way will a p-hailing licence for delivery riders protect consumers?
There is also the issue of unintended consequences. Firstly, if the p-hailing licence carries the same age requirement as the e-hailing licence, this would prohibit those below 21 from performing parcel delivery gigs.
Industry sources indicate that 40 to 60 per cent of the force will not make this age cut.
Secondly, what would a p-hailing licence mean for freelancers unattached to any gig platform?
The majority of delivery riders who work with gig platforms will most likely comply as most platforms will want to ensure and support compliance.
Non-platform delivery riders will likely have to shoulder the burden of licensing on their own, or more likely, choose to become unlicensed and thus illegal.
Lastly, the introduction of a p-hailing licence could affect those of age who look to delivery gigs as a side income.
Judging from the experience of the e-hailing licence, introducing p-hailing licensing could shut the door on part-timers due to the added barriers of entry.
The rapid growth of any occupational class or industry should be accompanied by regulations and enforcement to mitigate risks or public costs associated with the emerging services.
However, there is no one-size- fits-all solution to the gig industry, which includes parcel delivery. Imposing a regulatory framework to address risks in one type of gig occupation may not necessarily work for another.
It is crucial to tailor licensing requirements and other regulations to the risks presented by the occupation or service, or it may produce costly unintended outcomes to workers, consumers and the industry.
- The writer is a staff researcher at The Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The Centre is a think tank dedicated to impact driven research and centrist thought
