By Swe Oo Wai
In recent days, youths riding bicycles on the roads in Yangon City give door to door service of goods to customers. During the period when people stay at home due to outbreak of pandemic Covid-19, number of people increases to give orders to those youths for delivering foodstuffs and goods to their homes. Consequently, such kind of service is booming in the city with momentum.
The door to door foodstuffs and good transportation service has been given in Yangon by bicycle for many years. But, orders for delivery service were on the rise at the end of March and in April, said Ko Myat Oo, who is one of food and goods delivery service provider by bicycle.
Many delivery services such as Food Panda, Great Food and Food Mall are giving their services to the people in Yangon City. They recruited youths to deliver foods and goods to the people using bicycles on a daily basis. Some service providers are formed with more than 50 youths and some with more than 70.
Door to door service
After the World Health Organization has declared Covid-19 as the pandemic, the government of Myanmar issued a notification on 13 March 2020 not to gather crowds of people. The notification was valid till 30 April for the first time but it was extended to 15 May for the second time. As the people staying at home gave more and more orders of foodstuffs to the service providers, youths transport foodstuffs and goods to be delivered to homes of customers by bicycle.
At present, there are two door to door delivery services. One of two is to charge payment for foods only called as free of charge charity service. During the Covid-19 period, volunteer groups give such kind of services to the people. The second one collects transport charge for delivery service to homes from customers on a commercial scale.
Giving orders through online platform
Applying online platforms such as applications, facebook pages and telephones of the services, anybody may give orders of foodstuffs to the delivery services, which charge payments for the door to door delivery of foods.
Have to give payments
If the customers contact these service companies, the latter will order reachable restaurants for giving orders of foods to be delivered. Consumers can view the rates of foods while eating the foods at the restaurants so as to choose the foods as they like. Consumers or customers have to pay charges when foods are delivered at home.
Some companies operating such kind of services in Yangon City provide services free of charge but some collect not only payment for foodstuffs but also for transport charges.
More needs of cyclist servants
Now, restaurants cannot allow sitting consumers yet, so number of parcel orders is on the rise. As such, the service providers require more and more number of cyclist servants. They are salary servants, and the company fulfills them with bicycles and necessary accessories.
As their work processes, service providers express transport time for delivery of foodstuffs. The companies arrange monitoring their cyclist servants through GPS system. The companies undertake the best supervision for food safety as well as fulfill the cyclist servants with masks, hats, gloves and hand gel.
What is quality?
However, it is still weak in supervision for health and safety of consumers and quality of foodstuffs in providing door to door food delivery service. It is necessary to have the best touchable system for ensuring food safety and service safety as well as good tracing system, said officials from Myanmar Consumers Union.
Following the disciplines
Currently, food delivery services in Yangon City place emphasis on service to provide satisfactory services to the customers so as to glitter their prestige recognized by the people. The services are trying the best without any mistake while the cyclist youths are also following the disciplines.
Accepting many orders
Actually, the door to door food supply service was initiated by an Egyptian IT engineer Shady Ramadan in Yangon City. The Egyptian Chief Executive Officer & Founder of the service implemented his thoughts to eat something he wished at home easily. He initiated the door 2 door service with 10 staff as of December 2013. Despite initial difficulties and lesser orders, his service improved in 2016 with a large number of orders for providing services to the people.
With regard to the food delivery services, some services extend their wings to 35 townships of Yangon Region and some services to 30 townships. All service organizations set working hours from 8 am to 10 pm on a daily basis. During the Covid-19 period, their working hours last till about 8 pm because the curfew was declared.
Careful scrutiny
“Some orders were sent as a joke. Moreover, some orders were not mentioned with full address, so we faced difficulties for searching the houses. Now, the company carefully scrutinizes addresses for orders,” said Ko Myat Oo. As local authorities ban use of motorcycle in Yangon City, riding of bicycles is more safety for transporting the foods along the traffic congested roads in the city.
Increasing number of cyclists on recent days
Increasing number of youths riding bicycles with loads of food boxes were seen on main roads in Yangon City on recent days, especially at Hledan traffic light and environs and on Yangon-Insein Road. In fact, it is a service business suitable for the current period.
Based on trust
It is necessary to wait and see such kinds of food delivery services whether they would develop with momentum in Yangon City in the aftermath of Covid-19. As now is time of giving priority to safety and security of foods in accord with the health situation, such services are image of Yangon City based on mutual trust.
(Translated by Than Tun Aung)
