A pilot study for measuring roadway exposure through GPS watches worn by bicycle messengers and food delivery workers during work shifts

We conduct a pilot study on the delivery trips of bike messengers and food delivery workers using GPS-derived data to understand these gig economy jobs. Between July and September 2018, 19 workers were equipped with GPS watches for two consecutive days (n=38 participant-days). One-second signal data was classified using an algorithm to identify idle time periods between trips. This enabled us to extract times, speeds and distances on the road, as well as idle time blocks and as a share of total work shift. Extrapolated data on number of deliveries is compared with exit interview recalls as benchmark. Workers travel on average 31km (SD=13.3km) in shifts of over 5 hours (316 min., SD=84.4 min.) and conduct on average 20 deliveries (SD=5.8). They spend on average 10 min. bouts waiting for food or packages (SD=2.8) and spend on average 36% (SD=11%) of their work shifts on the road. The pilot provides important information on shift characteristics and deliveries and indicates the importance of time idling waiting for packages. This suggests greater per time and per kilometer injury risks than could be estimated when assuming workers are always on the streets. In a context of commission-based work, idling also reduces potential wage.