The cost of convenience — how delivery services are disrupting SA's cities

On any day in cities across the country, motor­­cycles idle outside malls and restaurants as the riders wait for the next delivery to ping on their phones. It’s a scene that has become as familiar as Table Mountain in Cape Town or the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

What began with Checkers Sixty60 has evolved into a fully-fledged ecosystem of instant convenience as Mr D, Uber, Pick n Pay asap!, Woolies Dash and others race to deliver everything from milk to sushi. But for landlords, restaurant owners and the drivers themselves, the cost of this convenience is becoming harder to ignore.

From suburb to staging ground

Using Cape Town as an example, Daily Maverick found that frustration was boiling over in Claremont in the southern suburbs.

A landlord at Intaba, a residential complex near the Cavendish Square shopping centre and popular restaurants and cafés, said the surrounding streets had turned into a motorbike holding zone.ser

The Claremont resident, who chose to remain anonymous, told Daily Maverick how he had seen drivers sleep on pavements, urinate in alleyways, park on red lines on dangerous corners and rev their bikes outside the apartment windows. The area was turning into a “slum”, he said.

He claimed that his properties’ values had plummeted and blamed delivery platforms like Mr D and Uber Eats for their poor driver oversight, saying he had found it difficult to reach staff higher up in the companies to complain.

In the city bowl, a Kloof Street restaurant owner, who also wanted to remain anonymous, shared similar concerns. Since 2017, he said, he had watched drivers cluster around the building, blocking entrances, urinating in the street and stealing products from his premises. He eventually banned them from entering his shop.

His landlord also erected a fence on one side of the property to prevent drivers from parking close to the restaurants or sitting on window sills. “Our cities aren’t built for this,” he said.

Drivers caught in the middle

For delivery drivers themselves, life on two wheels is far from easy. A Mr D driver, who spoke to Daily Maverick on condition of anonymity, said he worked from 7am to 10pm most days, commuting from outside the city to come to work, then spending his days waiting outside restaurants to maximise his chances of getting orders to deliver.

There were no designated rest areas, the driver said, and bathroom access depended on restaurants’ goodwill. Theft was a constant risk while waiting at the roadside, he added.

A report by Alicia Fortuin, a researcher at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town, highlights that most delivery drivers have to buy their own bikes, often second-hand and through informal for­ums or WhatsApp groups.

“There is also little evidence of new fintech services in asset finance offering insurance designed to target the riders themselves,” the report reads.

“Motorcycle delivery platforms have taken an asset-light approach.”

Commonly, drivers are classified as independent contractors. This gives them flexibility, but also strips them of protections, benefits and structured support.

Changes are coming 

To their credit, Cape Town’s major delivery players are not pretending the problems do not exist.

Takealot Group, which owns Mr D, said it was working with the City of Cape Town to test the value of having dedicated parking bays in high-traffic areas. “This pilot project is a first in South Africa and will be rolled out to the rest of the country,” the company said.

Takealot also runs a driver development programme that includes training, rest areas and feedback tools. It said it had received “isolated escalation cases” and identified the drivers, who then underwent consultation and retraining.

Drivers, the company said, enjoyed full autonomy. “Throughout the day drivers are released using a first-in, first-out priority system – those who have offered services the longest are released first during cash-up procedures.”

Pick n Pay echoed similar sentiments. Asap! drivers managed their own schedules and were advised to rest after four hours, with a daily cap of eight working hours, it said. “Drivers have access to facilities at the centre they operate from,” the retailer added.

It added that it was aware of concerns raised by residents and was reviewing how best to address them.

Checkers said most of its stores had sheltered waiting areas for Sixty60 drivers, depending on the shopping centres’ approval.

Woolworths, which operates Woolies Dash, said it rented dedicated mall parking spots and was testing ways to improve the driver experience. Dash drivers, too, are considered independent contractors.

Uber Eats offered fewer specifics, but said its community guidelines applied to all users. In 2024, it introduced hourly caps – 12 hours on the road, followed by mandatory rest.

Standards and feedback

Most of these companies offer training to their drivers. Mr D runs operational briefings, Pick n Pay uses onboarding centres and Woolworths requires compliance “in line with Woolies values”. Each platform offers complaint channels.

Driver feedback systems are also becoming more formalised. Uber hosts roundtable discussions and in-app support for drivers. Woolworths and Pick n Pay run regular feedback sessions. Checkers uses surveys and messaging apps.

The on-demand economy is very profitable. Woolies Dash grew 71.2% in 2024. Checkers Sixty60 online sales grew almost 60% in the same year. Mr D’s total sales volume jumped 16%.

It seems this success is coming at the cost of communities losing peace and patience, drivers shouldering risk in terms of crime, traffic and keeping their bikes running, and cities absorbing infrastructure strains. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.