The capital’s authorities are tightening control over courier services

A strict dress code is being introduced for Moscow’s 100,000 couriers: closed shoes, clean clothing equipped with reflective elements, and no shorts. Moscow authorities are launching a new control system over the delivery industry from May 15. As part of the innovations, each of the couriers will receive a special ID, numbers for a bicycle or electric scooter, and strict technical control will be established over the vehicles themselves. Such measures will make it possible to monitor the work of delivery workers and punish them for violations, officials say.

The Moscow Department of Transport has published an order designed to seriously regulate the work of couriers. According to the mayor’s office, there are more than 100 thousand couriers in Moscow; they carry out up to 500 thousand orders per day. The measures that were previously discussed with business will be launched in three stages.

From May 15, basic requirements to the appearance of couriers. The delivery worker’s clothing, equipped with reflective elements, must be clean, and shoes must only be “closed-type.”

Shorts, it follows from the explanations of the Department of Transport, are strictly prohibited. Employers must ensure that the vehicles used by employees to deliver orders – bicycles and SIMs – have working brakes, working lights and a securely fastened basket. No bags, cardboard boxes, or “wind protection structures.”

From October 1, the vehicle and the courier’s bag must be equipped with numbers and the inscription “Moscow rental” on the backpack. The numbers will be entered into the data center database so that cameras can monitor compliance with the rules. And from May 1, 2025, additional requirements for electric vehicles will come into force: maximum speed – no more than 25 km/h, automatic braking to 15-10 km/h in “slow” zones (parks, pedestrian areas), rear and front lights are required, call.

Delivery companies will be required to enter into an agreement with the Moscow Data Center and transfer information about all couriers, including bag number, vehicle number, type of movement (walking/bicycle/scooter), order number to the AIS Taximotor information system (taxi drivers are registered in it). . All couriers will receive a personal ID after passing a test on their knowledge of traffic rules; they will also need a passport, TIN, SNILS and other documents, including a certificate of no criminal record. The data center will monitor the movement of couriers using automatic systems, and the traffic police will monitor compliance with traffic rules on the roads.

The Department of Transport is developing amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Moscow, providing for administrative liability for failure to comply with the document, the department told Kommersant: “We expect that the changes will be adopted in the near future.”

“Business needs time to produce new bags, update and equip bicycles with equipment, set up and integrate IT systems,” the mayor’s office explained the stages of innovation.

Tightening control over couriers in Moscow and other large cities has been discussed for several years amid the expansion of the SIM fleet. The authorities have already established basic control over citizens who use electric scooters (including with the help of the traffic police and cameras), but there is almost no control over couriers. People on social networks often complain that delivery drivers are “driving madly” on the sidewalks. The Human Rights Council under the President previously asked to deal with courier services.

“We share the request to increase the level of security of courier deliveries – both for couriers and for other road users,” the press service of Yandex foodtech services told Kommersant.

Some points of the order of the Department of Transport require “considerable study, assessment and preparation,” the company noted, so implementation will take some time and require “a large amount of resources.” Vkusville told Kommersant that 20% of the company’s couriers deliver orders on electric bicycles (about 3 thousand people a day throughout the country). “We deliver only in accordance with traffic rules and support the initiatives of the Department of Transport,” the company assured, clarifying that many of the stated requirements are already being met, for example, a speed limit of 25 km/h, automatic switching on of lights and traffic rules training. At the same time, Vkusville noted that “changes always require effort and are associated with new challenges”: “For example, registering all couriers in the information system is a difficult point to implement. This potentially complicates entry into the profession. However, taxi services have been through this before, and we will get through this.”

“The movement of SIM and bicycles is regulated by traffic rules, and not by order of the department of transport,” notes Sergei Radko, lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement. “And the document will not work – there is no one to really deal with this, the police already have so many worries.” The expert also recalled that the Code of Administrative Offenses does not have a separate sanction for SIM violators (they fall under the category of “other traffic participants”), and the maximum fine is 1.5 thousand rubles. Mr. Radko says that the Department of Transport could transmit information about violations in the company to impose sanctions on couriers within the framework of employment contracts: “But for this we need to somehow ensure the conclusion of such contracts. How can a company be obliged to punish a courier, especially for a violation that is not in the Administrative Code?”

To hold couriers accountable for violations recorded by cameras, amendments to the code are needed, confirms Alexander Kholodov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. The expert does not rule out that the majority of electric bicycles and SIMs used by couriers are equipped with engines more powerful than 250 watts, which means that they are de jure mopeds and require a license to operate them. Moreover, the licenses must be Russian, so we are talking about the participation of drivers in commercial activities, says Mr. Kholodov: “There are many problems, it is unlikely to work in the near future.”

Ivan Buranov