GrabFood warns customers of longer wait with e-scooter ban on footpaths

Food delivery provider GrabFood has warned its customers to expect longer waits and even having their orders cancelled in light of a ban on the use of electric scooters on public footpaths that starts on Tuesday (Nov 5).

E-scooters will be confined to 440km of cycling paths islandwide.

The ban will progressively be extended to other motorised PMDs in the first quarter of next year, including hoverboards and unicycles.

Bicycles and personal mobility aids such as motorised wheelchairs will continue to be allowed on footpaths, cycling paths and park connectors.

Those caught flouting the rules can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to three months if convicted.

Stomper Pierre-Richard shared with Stomp a message he received from GrabFood on his app.

In the statement, GrabFood says their delivery-partners currently using e-scooters will need a longer time to deliver orders as they are required to dismount and walk for a large part of their journey.

"We seek for your understanding that there may be a longer waiting time for your orders or you may experience cancellations as our delivery-partners may not be able to cover the delivery distance on food," it said.

It added that they are actively helping the affected partners transit to another mode of transport.

According to The Straits Times, Grab said that more than one in three of its delivery riders rely on e-scooters to carry out their jobs.

Grab's GrabFood is one of the three major food delivery companies in Singapore, alongside Foodpanda and Deliveroo.

There are about 7,000 food delivery riders in Singapore who use e-scooters, the majority believed to be working for Grab.