Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has proposed new regulations on food delivery apps in the city, amid safety concerns caused by the massive growth of these services.
Wu filed the ordinance to City Council on Monday, and if passed, the city would require large delivery apps to obtain a permit with the city to do business in Boston. The permit would come with requirements, including that the delivery companies have insurance on all of their drivers, and share data with the city.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
![]() |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
“This ordinance is an important step toward making app deliveries safer for our city’s pedestrians and drivers on our streets, and toward ensuring delivery app drivers have insurance coverage from the large, national companies they work for,” Wu said in a news release. “As this new technology continues to develop, we want to make sure Boston is leading the way in safe and efficient regulation.”
The ordinance would require coverage for liability, personal injury, collision and medical if a driver is involved in a crash, regardless of what they were driving or their insurance status.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
The city would also collect data, including delivery hot spots and driver speed, to better adapt to parking needs and road design.
The proposal comes in response to safety concerns. Wu said that the city received over 100 311 reports in 2024 about increased traffic, double parking, and reckless deliver drivers on scooters and mopeds.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston and New England area.
“We hope to create an incentive for these companies to encourage safer driving instead of the current incentive–speed at all costs,” said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Chief of Streets. “The data we collect will allow us to plan for the impacts of food delivery, rather than just reacting to double parking, unsafe operation, or congestion made worse by a high volume of deliveries."
DoorDash has already pushed back on the proposal, saying that this would do little to improve safety and would create new costs that would add price hikes for customers.
The proposal still needs to go before City Council before moving forward.