Kuwait's decision to ban use of delivery bikes rapped

KUWAIT CITY: The Union of Restaurant and Cafe Owners as well as the owners of delivery companies have revealed that they consider the Ministry of Interior’s directive to prevent the use of highways for delivering orders and confiscate the delivery motorcycles that violate this directive as a disastrous decision that harms their services and exposes them to the risk of bankruptcy, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In press statements, they said this decision, if implemented, will affect 80 percent of the profits of the companies’ delivery services.

They denounced the linking of the expected measure to accidents that occur to motorcyclists, insisting that the accidents involving motorbikes are lesser than those involving vehicles, trucks and buses.

They also stressed the need to work on defining a path for their riders and obligating them to follow it through certain landlines.

Fahad Al-Arbash, Head of the Union of Restaurant and Cafe Owners, said, “If the decision to prevent delivery motorcycles from using highways is implemented, the losses will be great for the sector, given the reliance on motorcycles to deliver orders compared to the number of cars in existence. The union will not wait for the decision to be implemented, but rather there will be a move to address the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Interior”.

Affirming that the decision will have a greater impact on delivery companies, Al-Arbash stressed the possibility of solving the problem if the decision is implemented through international delivery companies, as stopping delivery motorbikes will be a temporary matter.

Meanwhile, Head of the Kuwait Consumer Delivery Union Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri stressed the union’s keenness to support members of the union and owners of companies and to act in their interests without harming the delivery services of restaurants or commercial centers using either motorcycles or vehicles.

He said, “Banning delivery motorcycles from using highways is not a new decision. It has been in place for nearly five years, as it is banned for drivers to use Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh ring roads. We contacted officials in the General Traffic Department and they confirmed that there are no new decisions regarding the delivery motorcycles. Companies and restaurants rely on them extensively and significantly, and they cannot be stopped with unthoughtful decisions”.

Al-Tuwaijri said he believes the use of motorbikes on banned roads is the responsibility of the rider, as he is exposing himself to the risk of traffic accidents in addition to the violations.

Furthermore, the owner of a delivery company Jaber Al- Sharif affirmed that that the decision, if issued, would be without a proper study, and exclusionary for owners of small and medium enterprises, as roads are available for all vehicles and for all individuals without any exception for bike riders.

Al-Sharif said, “Linking the decision to accidents involving delivery bikes is illogical, given that the number of accidents involving ordinary vehicles and heavy vehicles are higher over a period of one to 10 years. Those accidents and death rates are more than the severity of bike accidents”.