Abstract:
On August 24, Jinan Traffic Police officially joined hands with Taobao’s flash sales to launch the innovative function of “waiting for lights without waiting”, becoming one of the first cities in the country to implement this convenient and safety measure. According to the official introduction, when a rider stops at an intersection and waits for a red light, the rider APP will automatically recognize and suspend the delivery timing, and the waiting time for the light will not be included in the assessment.
On August 25, Poster News reporters were divided into multiple groups to investigate the actual delivery time of takeaway riders on the streets of Jinan
Talk delivery riders in Zhangqiu pilot area: Finally can wait for the red light with peace of mind
"Are you ready for the Taobao flash sale?" At noon on August 26, Master Chen, a rider from Zhangqiu District who has been running Taobao flash sales for a year, just arrived at the coffee shop.
When talking about the newly launched traffic light overtime function, he gave an intuitive affirmation. "I have been using it for two days and it feels good. Now the system will automatically add time to the order when waiting for the traffic light. I no longer have to rush to rush through the traffic light. I can wait for the signal at the intersection with peace of mind."
Before this function was implemented, time constraints were the biggest pressure for riders to run orders.
Master Chen said that in the past, the average delivery time for an order was about 20 minutes. The delivery pace has been very tight, and most orders have to be delivered within a short time. When encountering a red light at an intersection, coupled with the slow delivery of food by merchants, riders can easily fall into the dilemma of "if they obey the rules, they will face a timeout, but if they want to compete for time, they will risk running the red light." "In the past, time was too tight, and if a merchant had a late meal, there was nothing we could do if we ran a red light."
After the new function is launched, each order will have an average of two to three minutes more buffering time, which has truly alleviated timeout anxiety. “I used to almost run out of time, but now that we have supplementary time, we don’t have to be so flustered and rush for time,” Master Chen said.
Noon is the peak time for takeout delivery. Within one to two hours, he usually delivers 15 to 20 orders. Now when he encounters a red light, he no longer has to worry about waiting for tens of seconds.
This new feature has also sparked heated discussions among riders. According to Master Chen, Taobao flash sale riders around him generally recognize this feature, and riders on other platforms are also very envious. "We have recently been discussing new features among our riders. Everyone feels good about it. Riders on other platforms also expressed their 'very envy'."
The reporter learned that the platform no longer imposes cash fines for overtime orders, but rider service points will be deducted for overtime orders. A drop in service points will directly affect the quality of subsequent order dispatch, while timeouts will also reduce customer experience. Riders will still try to avoid timeouts as much as possible.
Waiting at the red light is not the only pain point
“I don’t have time, I’m almost over time.” On August 25, in downtown Jinan, when asked by reporters, many riders said they were taking orders and were pressed for time. After declining the interview, they quickly disappeared from the reporter’s sight.
A rider said that under the current delivery rules, it is "unrealistic" not to run a red light.
A rider near Hanyu Jingu told reporters that if he had enough time, he would definitely wait for the red light, but there are many blocks here and the intersection is close, so sometimes it is too late because money will be deducted for overtime.
Takeaway riders wait for traffic lights
Many riders also expressed different opinions on "waiting for lights without timing". At Jinan Shimao Plaza, a rider told reporters that he was not optimistic about the launch of the "wait for light without timing" function. He believed that instead of waiting for light to make up the time, a more effective approach is to increase the total delivery time. "Now the time to deliver food to us is much shorter than before."
Another rider also confirmed this view. When asked about the most time-consuming part of food delivery, he answered without hesitation: "Waiting for red lights and waiting for elevators, especially in office buildings and hospitals, where the floors are high and there are many people."
Some riders told reporters that sometimes they have to wait for a long time for the elevator and for food delivery. It would be better if the food delivery time starts counting after the meal is delivered.
Master Chen also said that merchant meal card is the main factor that easily causes timeout. "Sometimes merchants have to wait five or six minutes to serve meals, but the system only compensates for one minute. The time compensation is not enough, and the risk of overtime still exists."
A Meituan rider showed reporters that the average order delivery time displayed by the system is 27 minutes.
A rider showed reporters the average order delivery time displayed by the system - 27 minutes. He said that if it is a "grab and go" order such as convenience stores and pharmacies, there is still enough time; but if there is a stir-fry order that needs to wait for the merchant to deliver the meal, the waiting time for the meal will also be included in the countdown, and the food delivery time will be severely compressed. "If I wait too long, I won't have much time on the road."
During the interview, the young man pressed the elevator button and stared at the elevator numbers from time to time. As the elevator door slowly opened, his mobile phone also announced, "You have a new order, please check." He turned around and ducked into the elevator. He quickly pressed the button, "The new order is here, it's too late."
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