Delivery has long been a vital part of New York life. In 2024, DoorDash helped more than 100,000 people in New York City earn nearly $500 million and helped local businesses generate more than $1 billion in additional revenue.
But an extreme new bill being rushed through City Council puts delivery and the benefits it brings at risk. "The bill, Intro 20, includes an unfair and extreme 'three-strikes' rule that could ban a platform like DoorDash from operating after just three minor violations." If a bike delivery worker forgot to carry an ID on a delivery or didn’t wear a vest, the entire platform could be shut and throw tens of thousands of workers and business owners into chaos. This isn’t hyperbole—here’s how this law would play out:
A Dasher rushing to get her kids ready for school forgets her high-visibility vest as she logs into the app. Strike one.
New ID cards, required under this law, are distributed via mail. A single Dasher forgets to stop by their PO box to pick his ID card up before accepting an offer. Strike two.
Confusing their DoorDash-issued vest and ID number with one provided by another platform, a Dasher logs into DoorDash and starts taking deliveries while wearing a vest issued by the wrong platform. Strike three.
In a city where we carry out tens of thousands of deliveries each day, three small mistakes could lead to DoorDash being completely banned on day one, with disastrous consequences for New York City Dashers, merchants and consumers. This is obviously wrong.
DoorDash supports making New York City’s streets safer, and we’ve already backed sensible policies and partnered with community groups like FDNY Foundation on safety projects. We agree more needs to be done, and that's why we’re putting forward a commonsense plan to help make streets safer and hold irresponsible riders accountable. We support issuing digital ID numbers and requiring platforms to maintain detailed bike delivery workers, increasing access to safety equipment and mandatory bike safe training.
“What began as an effort to improve bike safety has mutated into something extreme and punitive,” said John Horton, DoorDash’s Head of North American Public Policy. “No one is opposed to smart reforms, and we’ve put forward policies to make the streets safer, but this bill clearly goes too far. If this bill passes, every delivery worker in the city could lose their ability to earn and local businesses could lose more than a billion dollars a year over just three issues. The bar for compliance is so high, and the threshold for pulling a license is so low, that this law would give the city the ability to outright ban third party delivery on day one.”
“I already ride safely. I use a helmet. I stay visible. I follow traffic laws. I take pride in what I do. But with thousands of Dashers in this city—many part-time, many juggling multiple apps—some people will fall out of compliance. And now the whole platform could be taken away for that? If it sounds extreme it’s because it is. The current bill includes a “three-strikes” provision. All it would take is a handful of delivery workers forgetting their new ID or not wearing the mandatory vest, and all of our work could be put at risk.”
-Marco, Bronx Dasher
DoorDash’s Proposal for a Safer NYC
Digital IDs for bike delivery workers: We support unique digital ID numbers for bike delivery workers in New York City. Delivery workers would be able to use the app to show their name, unique ID number, and key details of the delivery they are on quickly and easily. This provides the same outcome with far fewer logistical hurdles than Intro 20’s physical ID requirement.
Ensuring bike delivery workers are who they say they are: DoorDash already has robust safeguards in place to help ensure all Dashers are who they say they are, including identity verification. That’s why we support requiring all platforms to maintain details of bike delivery workers and sharing this information with the City upon request.
Mandatory bike safety training: We’ve helped provide and support bike safety training in other cities, and believe it could help in New York City, especially. We support proposals that require platforms to provide bike safety training for all bike delivery workers. This kind of training will help prevent traffic violations, parking issues, and even accidents.
Increased access to safety equipment: From helmets to high-vis, we support making safety equipment available to Dashers to help them stay safe while out on the road.
Targeting irresponsible riders: The vast majority of Dashers do the right thing and follow the rules of the road when dashing. But if a Dasher commits a serious crime or repeatedly breaks the rules, we will hold them accountable. We support working closely with the New York Police Department to remove dangerous and irresponsible bike delivery workers from all platforms if they commit serious or repeated violations of the law.
Delivery rules that apply to all deliveries: New delivery rules should apply to all deliveries in the city - not just those on certain platforms. Importantly, it should not matter if someone is delivering a hot meal, a bag of groceries or flowers, any new delivery rules should apply equally and fairly to all delivery workers, not just those on certain platforms. It doesn't make sense to have one set of rules for some delivery workers, and another entirely for other delivery workers simply because they use a different platform.
The fact is we all want to see New York’s streets, sidewalks and bike lanes as safe as possible - and we know there is more that needs to be done. At DoorDash, we have continuously invested in efforts to ensure safety–from equipment to training programs. We are more than willing to work with City leaders to make improvements and ensure we can continue to empower the city’s local economy, and we believe we can achieve more by working together than by being threatened with losing our ability to operate altogether.
