KUALA LUMPUR: With the stay-at-home order in place until Jan 26 in a host of states due to the Movement Control Order (MCO), one would be forgiven for thinking there would be a spike in food delivery orders.
However, that hasn't been the case at all, according to food delivery riders.
Amrey Asyraf, 26, said things have been surprisingly quiet.
When met outside a shopping mall in the Klang Valley yesterday, Amrey said he previously handled an average of 12 deliveries in three hours.
"The MCO is now in its third day and on average, I handle only eight deliveries during the three hours," said Amrey, who had been a rider for two years.
He believed there were now more riders than orders, as many who were retrenched during last year's MCO have become delivery riders.
Amrey hoped the government could further encourage the public to opt for food and grocery deliveries, as doing so would limit the people's movement during the MCO to help flatten the Covid-19 curve.
"Right now, the public can still go out, hence the reason why there aren't many orders for food delivery," he said.
Another rider, Alif Imran Redwan, echoed his colleague's views, saying there hasn't been any increase in delivery orders as the public can still go out for takeaways and pick-ups.
"Orders are slow in the morning and picks up in the evening.
" (But) the time is limited, as we only have until 8pm."
Alif, who just joined the delivery service a week ago, said he was hoping to get more orders next week.
An e-hailing driver, who was also taking food delivery orders, said he too hadn't been getting many orders.
The 41-year-old, who only wanted to be known as John, said he was doing this to earn some extra income.
Rider Mohd Hafizal Mustafa, 32, hoped the government could consider extending the operating hours of food outlets and restaurants, and subsequently food delivery beyond the current limit at 8pm.
"The mornings and afternoons are usually dead. Orders generally start coming in after 5pm, especially from those still working in the office.
"Most food outlets or restaurants will take orders at the latest by 7.30pm, which means that we have a very short window to work with.
"I hope the government can consider extending these hours until at least 10pm."
He also explained that as their salary is based on the number of deliveries they make, many riders are not earning as much as before.
On Monday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced tighter measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country, beginning with the implementation of the MCO, Conditional MCO and Recovery MCO for a period of two weeks starting Jan 13.
In MCO areas, no dine-ins are allowed, with restaurants and hawker stalls permitted to operate only for take-aways and deliveries.
Meanwhile, a Grab spokesperson said that during the first MCO last year, demand for delivery services rose across its Food, Mart and Express services.
"Our merchant-partners recorded a 25 per cent increase in their online revenue through Grab.
"We recognise that times are tough and many are looking towards the gig economy to maintain their livelihoods, especially through this second cycle of challenging times.
"We are continuously working to expand our services not only to cater to customers' needs. but also to help create further opportunities for businesses and gig workers to grow, and strike a balance to sustain the industry."