Ola introduces (contactless) food and parcel deliveries

1408 Views 12 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Dan Mation, Apr 9, 2020

Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · Mar 27, 2020 (Edited)

Email received from Ola (as a driver) on Friday 27 March 2020 at 6.02 pm:

Introducing no contact deliveries

Hi Jack,

We understand that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the demand for rideshare.

At Ola we are working to secure opportunities to help you to increase your earnings and to support your fellow Australians through these unprecedented times.

From today, we're working with grocers, retailers and restaurants to provide unaccompanied food and parcel delivery to their customers.

What does this mean for you?

You will still be able to complete trips with riders, however increasingly bookings may come from businesses to deliver packages or even packaged hot food to someone who is self-isolating in their home.

Picking up the delivery

When you have arrived at the pickup location, let the customer know you are there. The customer will then let you know if they are riding or need a parcel to be delivered.

Ask the customer for the particular delivery instructions. Be sure to follow social distancing measures when picking up and dropping off packages.

Dropping off the delivery

When you drop off the delivery, be sure to take a photo for your records. Note that some rides may have to deliver at several different locations.

We understand that deliveries are not for everyone. We're working on improving our platform to allow you to choose whether or not to accept deliveries. Until then, we're hoping that you can help our communities and in turn help us increase demand for you, our drivers.

Stay safe,
Team Ola

Jack Malarkey comments:

These delivery arrangements have clearly been introduced in haste and without an adequate platform to support them.

The driver doesn't know whether the ride is a passenger trip or a delivery until after arriving at the customer's request point and contacting the customer.

The driver needs then to obtain delivery instructions and to comply with them. They also need to take a photograph as a record of the delivery.

The driver will have the issues of finding legal and safe parking at both ends of the trip and may have to deliver a parcel far into a block of apartments.

At this stage, there's no option to opt out of deliveries.

And, most importantly, there is no car insurance coverage for deliveries other than with NRMA: see https://uberpeople.net/threads/be-very-careful-about-uber-eats-insurance-coverage.316987/.

From the Bingle website:

Does Bingle cover UberEats drivers? Or other food delivery companies?

Thomas

Unfortunately no, Bingle does not cover UberEats/other food delivery drivers. Bingle's Uber/Rideshare cover is ONLY for rideshare. It does not extend to food, parcel delivery, taxi's, couriers etc.

Reach out to the Insurance Council of Australia to find the cover that's right for you.

(https://help.bingle.com.au/hc/en-us...ats-drivers-Or-other-food-delivery-companies-)

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 1, 2020

Ola sent the following email to riders on Tuesday 31 March 2020 at 8.07 pm:

Ola can help you with your business deliveries

Hi Jack Malarkey,

Are you a small business owner and need help with any deliveries? With more people having to stay home over the past few weeks, many small businesses throughout the country are finding it tough and need to look to new solutions to keep the business running.

So we're launching our Ola delivery service to help businesses like yours. We can deliver a wide range of goods from everyday household items through to one-off supplies. It's all about helping you get your product back into your customers' hands. Our drivers are ready to go from today and you can be rest assured we are set-up to be a delivery partner with:

✔ A strong driver network of 70,000 across Australia

✔ A centralised platform for easy delivery bookings

✔ Multi-stop option to facilitate more than one delivery at the same time. To register your business, email [email protected] with your:

1. Full Name

2. Contact Number

3. Business name

We look forward to hearing from you and will be in touch as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Ola

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 2, 2020 (Edited)

Email received from Ola as a driver on Thursday 2 April 2020 at 7.34 pm:

Helping our customers deliver to their loved ones

Unaccompanied Package Deliveries

Hi Jack,

To help boost your business, we wanted to let you know that we are promoting unaccompanied package deliveries from customer to customer.

This means that some customers may book you for a trip to deliver an item from their house to a friend or a family member and not ride in the car with you.

When a customer books a ride for an unaccompanied package delivery, here's what you need to do:

Picking up the parcel

Once you accept the booking request, the customer will give you a courtesy call to let you know they require a package delivery.

When you arrive at the pick up location, the customer will come out to put the package for delivery in your car and give you their start code.

Please note customers have been advised to wipe down and sanitise all packages.

Dropping off the delivery

When you have arrived at the drop off location, call the customer that booked the trip through the Ola app to let them know you have arrived.

The receiving customer will then come out and meet you to pick the package up from your car.

It's that easy!

Customers have been informed that all deliveries remain their responsibility from pick up to drop off.

Thanks,
Team Ola

*See full details of the driver agreement in the driver app.

Jack Malarkey comments:

The procedures have now been tweaked and improved in that the onus is now on the customer to contact the driver after acceptance of the job request if there is to be a delivery.

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 2, 2020 (Edited)

minty_ said:
When can we expect to receive Ola delivery orders @Jack Malarkey and do you know if/when we can switch between deliveries and rides, like how Uber let us switch between deliveries and rides?

Regards,
Minty.

@Minty, Ola does not yet have the in-app facility to switch between deliveries and rides the way Uber does.

I suspect Ola delivery requests will come through soon now that Ola is actively promoting the service at a time where the demand for deliveries is increasing and the demand for rides is decreasing.

As I have mentioned previously, drivers would need to ensure they have adequate insurance coverage for deliveries.

There is no problem with NRMA policies for deliveries but the position would appear to be problematic with other insurers unless the driver takes out a full commercial insurance policy.

Remember that rideshare and deliveries are NOT legally the same and particularly so when it comes to insurance.

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 2, 2020

minty_ said:
True, hopefully we begin to receive delivery requests from Ola in the next few days.

Do you know whether we'll be notified in app, regarding whether the request is delivery or rideshare? For example, if I receive a request with the pick up address as a Coles supermarket, how do I find out whether it's delivery or rideshare?

I often get rideshare pick ups from supermarkets and I park in a 2 minute parking, loading zone or no parking zone to pick up my pax, so if it's a delivery request from a supermarket, it will be handy to know in advance, so that I can find a proper car park, walk into the store and pick up the package to deliver.

Regards,
Minty.

At this stage, the Ola app can't notify you whether it's a delivery or a ride request. The customer phones you and lets you know if it's a delivery request.

Both the customer and the person to whom you are delivering meet you at your car.

Shebah has also recently introduced a delivery service. The Shebah drivers do know at the time of request whether or not it's for a delivery request as the delivery requests are coloured differently.

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 2, 2020

minty_ said:
True. Do you know whether or not DiDi are introducing a courier service as well?

No suggestion so far of that.

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 2, 2020

Email sent to riders by Ola on Friday 3 April 2020 at 10.31 am reflecting the tweaks and improvements to their delivery arrangements:

Our drivers are available to pick-up or drop-off items

Pick-up or drop-off urgent items to a loved one

Hi Jack Malarkey,

There may be times where you need to pick-up or drop-off items to a family member or friend.

Whether it's the essentials, a surprise gift or that puzzle you mastered, you can easily arrange items to get picked-up or dropped-off to their new home with our drivers.

All you need to do is:

1. Open your app and book a ride
2. Enter your end destination for the item drop-off address
3. Once your driver is confirmed, call them to let them know they are picking up a package

4. Give the item a good clean making sure it's safe and hygienic to travel
5. When the driver arrives tell them your Start code and place your item in their car
6. Once the driver reaches the end destination you will receive a call

As always, you are responsible for any belongings delivered in an Ola.

Thanks,
Ola

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 5, 2020

Uber is now piloting parcel delivery in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

See, for example, https://uberpeople.net/threads/parcel-delivery.391035/#post-6087576

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Jack Malarkey

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 6, 2020

It looks as if Uber's pilot of parcel delivery is NOT coming to Canberra:

'Our parcel delivery pilot will soon be available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth and Adelaide'.

(https://www.uber.com/en-AU/blog/brisbane/uber-parcel-aus/)

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