By Stephen Peter
They are always in a hurry: thousands of bicycle messengers deliver groceries or dishes from restaurants to Berliners’ homes every day. Unfortunately, many of them do not follow the road traffic regulations. Now one of the delivery services supplies a number itself – it is shockingly high!
It’s hard to imagine the cityscape without them: the bike couriers from Gorillas, Flink, Getir, Lieferando and Wolt. They all advertise with the promise of delivering purchases and food to the customer in minutes. Unfortunately, traffic safety often falls by the wayside in the hectic business: When the traffic lights turn red, the messengers drive across the intersections, on cycle paths in both directions – and use the cycle paths regularly.
Not a snapshot, but now documented for the first time: one of the delivery services interviewed its employees themselves. “That’s what Wolt couriers are demanding from politicians,” is the self-confident headline of the result. The Finnish company (founded in 2014) employs 2,500 couriers in Berlin, 620 of whom took part in the survey. They demand more respect from motorists and more bike lanes. So far, so to be expected. Another result of the survey is interesting.
“The lack of cycle paths forces a good 60 percent of drivers to switch to sidewalks. Another reason for this is the poor condition of the road,” says von Wolt. Means: More than half of the suppliers rush illegally over the sidewalk. Because missing cycle paths or bad roads do not entitle you to ride on the sidewalk!
In addition: Even in streets with bike paths or lanes, the Wolt couriers in Berlin speed down the sidewalk, often only a few centimeters away from passers-by.
So does Wolt justify or condone traffic violations? At the request of the BZ, the company is rowing back a bit. Any violation of the StVO will be punished. “Wolt couriers are regularly trained in road safety,” says a company spokesman.