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Delivery and gig drivers tell council unpaid waiting time and building access cost them; call for lockers, wait‑time pay
Summary
Delivery drivers and a gig‑worker advocate asked the Council to require large multifamily buildings to provide lockers or designated dropoff areas and to consider unpaid wait‑time compensation to address substantial unpaid time and lost earnings.
Gig workers who testified at the Committee on Public Works and Operations hearing said unpaid waiting time and restricted building access significantly erode delivery drivers’ earnings.
"I respectfully urge the council to recommend that the DC Council establish a requirement for all large multifamily residential buildings to provide a delivery shelf, a locker, or a designated area where food deliveries can be dropped off," said Isaac Wilkins, a gig worker who told the committee he has completed thousands of rides and deliveries in the region.
Wilkins and other witnesses described drivers spending unpaid minutes — sometimes much longer — waiting for building codes, elevator access or customer contact. Wilkins said he contacted about 300 residential buildings and found many already provide a drop‑off area, which he said suggests a citywide requirement would be a feasible “light‑lift” policy. He also recommended unpaid wait‑time fees as an alternative to building requirements.
The committee and DFHV asked questions about enforcement and whether a building‑level mandate would fall outside DFHV’s regulatory authority. Director Jonathan Rogers said the carrier‑for‑hire rulemaking does not currently include a building requirement and suggested the issue may overlap with building codes or DDOT public‑space rules; he said pilot programs might be an option.
Council members asked DFHV to review options, including pilot programs, and to consider whether parking policy, curb management or building code tools are better vehicles for any delivery‑locker mandate.
