Ele.me tops accidents toll

Five people were killed and 324 injured in traffic accidents involving delivery services in the first six months of the year, Shanghai traffic police said on Monday.

Out of a total of 325 accidents, Ele.me was involved in 111, followed by meituan.com with 109.

Hema Fresh and SF parcel delivery service had 29 and 11 accidents, respectively.

In accidents involving e-biking deliverymen and motor vehicles, three deliverymen were killed, two from ele.me and one from YTO parcel delivery firm, with 154 injured.

In those involving deliverymen and non-motor vehicles or pedestrians, two people who were not deliverymen were killed and 160 people including both deliverymen and others were injured, police said.

Traffic offenses by deliverymen, who often risk their own and others' safety as they try to make more money from more deliveries, have long been a headache for traffic police, but different strategies have been introduced to cut back on accidents.

One involves installing a small chip on e-bike plates to track riders in the event of a traffic offense. 

Such plates are being piloted in Xuhui and Putuo districts with plans to expand the system throughout the city.

In the Pudong New Area, deliverymen working within the Inner Ring Road now wear vests with numbers which will be captured by the police cameras when an offense is detected.

Depending on the number of points deducted for traffic offenses, a deliveryman in Pudong can be suspended or blacklisted.