Food delivery riders push for service fee hike amid oil price hike

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Some food delivery riders here aired their sentiments through a protest to call on the management of food delivery service firm foodpanda to increase their service fee due to the bigtime oil price hike in the country.

The management earlier promised them to raise the minimum delivery fee to P45, according to the food delivery riders.

But some of them temporarily halted their work and gathered near the Bacolod City Government Center last Monday to express their dismay as they almost have no take-home income, given the series of recent increase in gasoline.

The riders said that the delivery fee they received ranged from P15 to P21, depending on the distance of each food delivery transaction.

But it is not enough, according to them, adding that their daily income was around P350.

In a statement, foodpanda said the welfare of their delivery partners is their top concern while they all continue to face the fuel and inflation crisis.

“We are aware that this crisis affects our partner riders most especially, and we hear their concerns and calls for action loud and clear,” the management said.

In direct response to recent fuel price hikes, foodpanda Philippines said that it has taken active steps to support their Ka-Panda delivery partners.

These include “increasing riders’ earnings on deliveries and providing more incentives for accomplishing specific milestones, or quests,” the management said in a statement.

The company also worked closely with the government to enroll their riders in the national fuel subsidy program, and with their fuel provider partners in offering exclusive discounts to “Ka-Pandas.”

The management said that they have been communicating with their Ka-Panda riders also these past weeks to answer their questions, and they will continue to be in close touch with them as they navigate these challenges together.

foodpanda said they will continue to support their delivery partners in defraying costs. “We are closely monitoring the rise in costs as a result of global developments,” it added.

With this, foodpanda also wish to note that their partner riders’ earnings also largely depend on order volume which can vary day to day.

But the firm is hopeful that these initiatives will provide a much timely boost to riders’ earnings, as they continue to develop more benefits to support them through these challenging times.