KUALA LUMPUR – The Covid-19 pandemic has brought growth to food delivery companies globally and around the country, as more people work from home or exercise caution about eating out.
But while this may be good news to the service providers, riders seem to be telling a different tale.
The pandemic has forced more and more Malaysians into the gig economy, in particular the food delivery services, as those who have either lost their jobs or had their salaries cut attempt to make a living.
This has led to lower earnings across the board among the riders, in most parts of the Klang Valley at least, as they now have to compete with a larger pool of deliverers.
Foodpanda Malaysia recently said the number of riders in its fleet have more than doubled nationwide since the start of the year.
From March to August, when thousands of Malaysians were reported to have been retrenched, more than 24,000 new riders joined the company, its head of logistics Shubham Saran told The Vibes.
“Between March and June alone, the total number of new riders doubled each month compared to the previous month,” he said.
Outside Malaysia, the health crisis has also driven aggressive growth and brought positive development in the Asia-Pacific markets, its regional head Jakob Angele had said earlier in May.
Foodpanda Malaysia was however unable to provide figures on the number of orders they receive each month and whether they have increased since the movement control order, due to disclosure rules related to the Frankfurt listing of Foodpanda’s parent company, Delivery Hero SE.
However, according to several delivery riders The Vibes spoke to, they now spend more time waiting for bookings than they do delivering food.
“The number of orders we receive each day have significantly reduced, by more than half I would say.
“I used to receive between 20 and 30 orders daily, making around RM200, if I work from morning to evening.
“Now, I only get about 10 orders each day, earning around RM80. But of course, this may differ with every individual, depending on the location and demand,” said a rider, who requested anonymity.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said it is only normal that those who lost jobs or had their pay cut would join the gig economy, as it helps them earn immediate income.
The gig economy refers to a labour market characterised by short-term contracts or freelancing and includes e-hailing and food delivery, photographers, programmers, movers and personal shoppers.
Shamsuddin acknowledged that the boom in the numbers of delivery riders in such a short period of time has posed a challenge, as potential income will now be “fragmented”.
“With employment hard to come by, many Malaysians have no choice but to look to the gig economy. Based on early estimates, the number of those in this market may have ballooned to about three million today.
“This is an issue. Although some are saying there have been an increase in the volume of business in this segment, the number of people involved has gone up exponentially,” he added. – The Vibes, September 19, 2020
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