Today, the DC Council will vote on emergency legislation from Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen to give DC’s Department of For-Hire Vehicles authority to enforce traffic violations by app-based food, beverage, and parcel delivery services such as Uber Eats, Grubhub, and others.

The legislation will be considered during today’s additional legislative meeting, underway now: http://dc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=87

Commonly, delivery drivers for these services park illegally in travel lanes for vehicles and buses, crosswalks used by pedestrians, and bike lanes used by bike and scooter riders, creating safety hazards and blocking travel. While the Department of For-Hire Vehicles has authority to enforce these violations when it involves passengers being picked up or dropped off, it cannot enforce violations when drivers are making deliveries—often the same drivers, sometimes driving for the same companies.  

“It’s an important change we can easily make that will have a major impact in our neighborhoods. When UberEats or Grubhub delivery drivers park illegally and throw their flashers on, even for just a few minutes, it makes the road, the crosswalk, and bike lanes less safe and blocks the flow of traffic, often in busy areas,” said Councilmember Allen. “I heard over and over in meetings with leaders in Southwest, H Street, and Barracks Row that a major challenge for keeping traffic moving safely was that delivery services were simply not following the rules. DFHV already does enforcement for passenger services, so this is an easy way to improve enforcement across the board.”  

The expanded authority only applies to food, beverage, and parcel deliveries that operate in the same way as rideshare companies the Department of For-Hire Vehicles was created to help manage. It does not include enforcement of traditional delivery companies, like Amazon or FedEx, which remains with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Public Works.    

“Long-term, this speaks to our need to carefully manage our curb space, which is at a premium in the city. We should be nimble enough, on a block-by-block level, to create pick-up / drop-off spaces where needed that don’t disrupt the safe passage of everyone around them,” added Councilmember Allen. 

###

Media Contact: Erik Salmi | [email protected]