Letters | Keeta’s dangerous order-grabbing mechanism should be scrapped
Readers discuss the safety hazard posed by Keeta’s system design, the heavy fine slapped on MTR Corp, the taxi licence system, and the jaywalking penalty
In the fast-paced food delivery industry, such a feature poses a significant safety hazard. Instead of automatically assigning orders, this mechanism has riders taking on orders on a first come, first served basis, so they must watch out for pop-up alerts on the app and react quickly. This leads to reckless competition, distracted riding and a higher risk of accidents. The system is flawed and urgently needs reform – or even a ban.
In an open letter last week, Keeta said nearly 90 per cent of orders were assigned to drivers, while only a small percentage of orders go out through the order-grabbing mechanism, which is intended to supplement drivers’ income.
I believe the most effective solution is to scrap this feature. Keeta should assign all orders automatically and adopt artificial intelligence-powered distribution to ensure fairness.
If Keeta refuses to abandon the order-grabbing mechanism, it must disable order acceptance when a rider is moving faster than 10km/h or in motion for more than three seconds. It should also penalise drivers for reckless riding and suspend those caught accepting orders while driving.