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Deliveroo to introduce new safety measures for riders, but do they go far enough?

The spate of recent acid attacks on couriers across London has saw the likes of UberEATs and Deliveroo facing criticism from their own riders that the firms are not doing enough to protect them when they are out and about making deliveries.

Amid rising criticism and claims from couriers that they have felt unsafe for months, one of the biggest operators in the space has moved to introduce new safety measures designed to protect its riders from similar attacks in future.

London-headquartered Deliveroo, has announced today that it will introduce helmet-mounted cameras and would be encouraging its riders to use a new app designed to flag dangerous addresses and postcodes to other riders.

The move, which was announced on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, comes as the firm looks to allay fears about rider service and stave off an exodus of workers, with over 70 of its riders having unassigned themselves from work in the last three weeks.

Deliveroo has also said that it intends to hire 50 extra staff who will be focused on rider safety.

Dan Warne, Managing Director for Deliveroo UK said that the firm, which is rumoured to be on the brink of a mega investment round from Softbank, was working closely with police and local councils to share its information on crimes and attack hotspots.

He said: “We will do everything we can to protect our riders and have put in place new measures so that riders can report any concerns they have or even move to work in another area if they feel unsafe.”

Notwithstanding the trauma and life-changing injuries sustained by the victims of such horrific crimes, the issue of rider safety is developing into another damaging public relations problem for Deliveroo.

And while today’s moves are clearly an attempt to proactively stem any damage to its reputation, much like the controversy over worker’s rights and pay, Deliveroo’s critics will still claim that the company, which has raised hundreds of millions of pounds in funding, is profiteering off the back of its riders’ misery.

The problem for Deliveroo is that, thanks to its brand strength, it has become the posterchild not just for the on-demand delivery space but the gig economy in general, and this naturally makes it a lightning rod for all the negative headlines currently swirling around the sector.

It deserves credit for doing something on the issue, and its expanded rider safety team will presumably see more innovations and safety features introduced in the coming months.

However, this is not Deliveroo’s burden to deal with alone.

A more joined up approach from those operating in the on-demand delivery space is a necessity, not mention a coherent and level-headed plan from the police, councils and policymakers.

Until then, it’s going to take a lot more than cameras and an app to remove this scourge from London’s streets.

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