Commercial Couriers in China

New types of employment have emerged with the rapid development of the Internet⁺ in recent years. Commercial courier businesses have become a new dynamic part China’s economic growth. According to the national statistics, new industries, new business forms, and new developing models increased the gross domestic product (GDP) in China by approximately 15.3% in 2016. ^{Reference Hao1,Reference Huang and Hao2} Among them, the express delivery business has developed very rapidly in the last decade, with both business volume and number of employees growing rapidly in China. ³ Data also show that the growth rate of Chinese express delivery companies is 4 times that of the GDP growth rate. ⁴

Similar to the express delivery business, the food delivery business has had an explosion of growth. By June 2018, food delivery customers had reached 150 million in China, that is, about 10% of the Chinese people. The newest data show that number will exceed 300 million in the near future. ⁵ The great demand for food delivery has also attracted a large number of couriers, nearly 10 million workers. According to data from the State Post Bureau of China, as of November 16, 2020, the annual volume of express deliveries in China exceeded 70 billion for the first time. ⁶ The express delivery business has developed very rapidly, and both business volume and number of employees have grown rapidly in China in the last decade (Table 1, Figure 1).

Table 1.

Characteristics related to express delivery in China from 2010 to 2019

Figure 1.

The tendency of express delivery related indicators in China from 2010 to 2019.

With the rapid development of these new industries, the number of employees, mainly couriers, has also increased quickly. In this paper, we narrowed the definition of commercial couriers to only those using electrically powered scooters as their vehicle, and we excluded peddle bike riders and truck/lorry drivers.

Currently, there is still a lack of an accurate number estimating total Chinese couriers nationwide. The estimated numbers of couriers in different time periods are shown in Table 2. ⁷

Table 2.

Number of delivery employees in different periods

* Official: data source from government, such as “People’s Daily Online”; semi-official: data partly from the government; non-official: data only from society organizations.

On June 9, 2020, a report analysis showed that the number of delivery workers continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, the total number of couriers, including part-time workers, in China, is as high as 10 million, and it is far more than any other country around the world. ⁸

A study in the United States in 2019 revealed the relationship between freight vehicles and road traffic safety in the era of e-commerce. ^{Reference McDonald, Yuan and Naumann9} The growing population of couriers has brought convenience to consumers and developed this new industry. These couriers mainly include food and express commercial delivery workers who ride electric motorcycles, electric bikes, and motorcycles. However, the rise of the delivery industry has also resulted in a high incidence of traffic accident injuries. Occupation risk categories for couriers rank workers into 4 or 5 categories. Level 5 is the highest risk level. Their risk is much higher than that of other occupations, and protection from occupational injury among employees is also urgently needed. ^{Reference Hao1,Reference Huang and Hao2,Reference Lin, Li and Li10}

Epidemiological Characteristics of Occupational Injury Among Commercial Couriers

Several studies have reported on the characteristics of the courier occupation. A monographic study reported that, in Beijing, there were 463 service sectors engaged in the courier occupation in 2019, and it showed that the proportion of male employees was as high as 96%. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2} The study showed 46.85% of couriers worked 8–10 hours a day, and 33.69% of couriers worked 10–12 hours a day. Nearly 20% of couriers worked for more than 12 hours. About 60% of couriers had 2 days off or less each month. ⁶

The education level of couriers is generally low, and nearly 80% are from rural areas. More critically, 59.01% of couriers felt pressure from their work. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2,6} At present, couriers face 3 problems: The first one is lack of professional dignity, the second is that the regulatory standards for the use of express vehicles such as electric motorcycles has not been issued yet, and the third is that the income of couriers needs to be improved. ⁶ The majority are under 40 years old, and more than half have worked for less than 3 years. ⁷

Unfortunately, we found that occupational injuries had proliferated over recent years. At present, the salary of couriers is closely related to how many pieces the courier can deliver. Electric motorcycles and electric bicycles are the most important vehicles for e-commerce and are used by almost 100% of couriers. ^{Reference Zeng, Lin and Lin11}

Electric motorcycles and electric bicycles are important vehicles because of their ability to avoid congested traffic delays and for their ease when parking on narrow streets. Moreover, electric motorcycles and electric bicycles are more economic than oil burning motorcycles. Until recently driver’s licenses were not mandatory for driving them in China. A study investigates the characteristics of crashes and traffic signal violations caused by motorcycle couriers in Korea. ^{Reference Shin, Byun and Jeong12} Of the 671 injured couriers, 67.5% of motorcycle crashes were described as “rider overturned alone,” 73.5% of crashes were in the daytime, and 77.2% occurred on cloudy or clear days. ^{Reference Shin, Byun and Jeong12}

A report of electric bicycle accidents in China showed that there was a total of 56 200 road traffic accidents caused by electric bicycles throughout the country from 2013 to 2017, and the number of accidents and deaths caused by electric bicycles has increased year by year. ^{Reference Jiao13}

In this high-risk occupation, about 33% of couriers and food delivery riders have been injured in their work. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2} Among them, 78% were injured in traffic accidents, 14% had suffered other accidental injuries, 17% had suffered heat stroke, and 20% were injured by other people. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2}

In the first half of 2017, according to data released by Nanjing city, China, there were, on average, 18 traffic accidents related to couriers every day and a total of 3200 accidents. During the same period in the Shanghai Municipality, there were 76 traffic accidents in the food delivery industry, with 1 death every 2.5 days, and more than 15% of people had experienced traffic accidents. ^{Reference Hao1,5}

A study from Brazil found that 39.6% of motorcycle couriers reported more than 1 traffic accident in the previous 12 months. Significant differences were observed in climatic conditions, time of the day, prehospital care, and hospital admission rate. The study revealed the susceptibility of motorcycle couriers to traffic accidents and suggested the need for measures to effectively intervene and specific prevention policies. ^{Reference Soares, Mathias and da Silva14}

Another study on 740 motorcycle couriers in southern Brazil found that the characteristics associated with accidents were young driver age, the use of cell phones while driving, and speeding. The study revealed the need to adopt wide-ranging strategies to reduce accidents, including better work conditions for motorcyclists. ^{Reference Silva, Andrade and Paula Soares15}

Risk Factors of Occupational Injury Among Commercial Couriers

In the present study, the risk factors of occupational injury for couriers were summarized and reported in 2 categories: objective conditions and subjective reasons.

The first aspect was objective conditions. This includes inadequate protective equipment, overwork, and stress. A survey on 463 couriers found that their protective equipment was very simple. Only 71% of couriers were equipped with helmets, and 47% carried out regular maintenance on their electric vehicles. Moreover, couriers were responsible for providing protective equipment for themselves. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2} For a common occupational safety risk such as traffic accidents, e-commerce platform/companies are not taking responsibility for driver protective equipment and vehicle maintenance. ^{Reference Huang and Hao2} The quality of various electric motorcycles/bicycles varies, and the laws and regulations for businesses and workers using these vehicles are new and imperfect.

A study showed that couriers had a heavy work burden and showed an overall trend of overwork. Long work hours and competitive pressure among drivers were important factors influencing couriers. ^{Reference Lin, Li and Li10} Under heavy stress, accidents and injuries are more likely to occur.

This study’s second aspect is subjective reasons. The present study defined these to mainly include reasons such as “not insisting on wearing a helmet,” “weak safety awareness,” and “bad traffic habits.” According to a report in Shanghai, total electric bicycle traffic casualties increased from 13.8% to 20.5% from 2008 to 2013, of which traumatic brain injury accounted for 68.9% of the injuries. The use of safety helmets has been proven to be one of the most effective interventions for road safety. Correct use of helmets can reduce 72% of serious injuries and approximately 40% of deaths. ^{Reference Yu, Peng and Li16,17} However, there are couriers who choose not to wear a helmet when they are working.

On the other hand, weak safety awareness and bad traffic habits were found to be an important risk factor of courier injury. The most common traffic habits of couriers were to exceed the speed limit, drive through crosswalks, and to drive using a mobile phone in 1 hand. Other habits included riding an electric bicycle retrograde to traffic flow, running a red light, and riding in the motor vehicle lane. ^{Reference Lu18} Byun et al. found that, although total injury rate decreased, young food delivery riders commonly violated traffic laws and had serious injuries. ^{Reference Byun, Park and Jeong19}

Preventive Measures to Control Occupational Injuries Among Couriers

Based on the analyses of the above risk factors, there are 7 preventive measures we identified to help control occupational injuries among commercial couriers in China. Among these measures, the first 4 are measures that require action by the courier, while the last 3 measures are government actions.