Delivery riders offered free health checks to improve road safety

Eye tests and vitamin supplements part of regular checks to cut road deaths

Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) has organised the first periodic health check for delivery riders as part of its Riders' Corner initiative. Photo: DHCC

A new scheme offering free health checks to delivery riders in Dubai aims to cut the number of accidents caused on the roads as a result of poor health and fatigue.

As the food delivery industry surges in popularity, so have the number of accidents involving riders as more bikes take to the busy roads of Dubai.

The Riders’ Corner Initiative is the latest welfare scheme to improve the working lives of delivery bikers, offering free periodic health check-ups at Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC).

In collaboration with Clemenceau Medical Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and Al Manara Pharmacy, motorcycle delivery riders will be offered health screenings, eye tests and vitamin supplements.

Workers can call in to the Al Razi Medical Complex in Building 64 of DHCC to access the services, receive free water and charge their mobile devices.

More than 50 delivery riders have already used the services since its launch, with hundreds more expected over the summer.

The initiative follows a Dubai Roads and Transport Authority scheme to encourage riders to take regular breaks when on shift, particularly during the hot summer months.

Basic services such as maintenance facilities, refuelling, rest areas and restaurants – as well as information on public safety – have been established at three integrated rest stops on Sheikh Zayed Road near the Festival Plaza at Jebel Ali Village, at Port Saeed next to Al Muraqabat Street 22, and at Ras Al Khor Industrial Area 2 near Al Manama Street.

The number of delivery services operating in Dubai rose almost 50 per cent in 2022 from the previous year.