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A blanket ban has been sought on the use of motorcycles and old cars to deliver food and products in Bahrain.
The Southern Municipal Council is proposing the move after repeated demands from citizens to end the mayhem caused on the roads by some reckless bikers.
There has been an exponential growth in home deliveries in the past couple of years, with shops and supermarkets joining restaurants and cafés in delivering anything from food to groceries, clothes, books, toys and even flowers.
“We have been witnessing regular accidents in the country because delivery bikers or those using old cars just want to rush to reach in time,” said the council’s services and public utilities committee chairman Abdulla Abdullatif, who is spearheading the proposal.
“That’s why we want a blanket ban on the use of motorbikes and old cars for deliveries,” he said.
“Instead, the government should enforce a rule that new, cheaper small Chinese cars not older than five years should be used for the service; these vehicles are currently being sold for an average price of BD3,000 per vehicle, which is in the range of a motorcycle or an old car.
“A flow capacity calculation would show how many cars each business would need.”
He added that the proposal wasn’t strange as rental cars are only allowed to be used for a maximum of five years due to heavy usage.
The GDN reported in June that delivery riders could be banned from a number of roads and only allowed to offer their services between specific timings each day.
Northern Municipal Council chairman Ahmed Al Kooheji called for signboards to be erected on ‘inner roads’ banning entry to delivery bikers.
Bahrain’s municipal councils and the Capital Trustees Board would identify the no-entry zones after discussions with residents and relevant authorities.
The GDN reported in May 2019 that a proposal to ban delivery motorbikes from Bahrain’s major highways had been approved by the Northern Municipal Council. The Traffic Directorate, however, replied at the time that it was more a case of improper conduct of some riders being addressed, rather than introducing an arbitrary ban on highways.
The time-saving tricks motorcyclists use to get their hot plates to their destinations have long been a bane of the authorities with enraged legislators and councillors demanding tougher penalties, including jail time, to deter them.
Municipalities in July last year had resorted to installing concrete pillars and posts on pavements in a bid to prevent food delivery riders from taking shortcuts across pedestrian walkways.
Traffic authorities have installed speed cameras on major highways and increased fines for violators. In January last year, the Traffic Directorate revealed that 3,885 violations were issued to delivery service riders and 364 motorcycles were impounded. Violations included crossing red signals, exceeding speed limits, driving on pavements, overtaking and using mobile phones while riding.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s services committee is reviewing plans to regulate the booming home delivery sector that currently employs 12,000 people in Bahrain.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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