Delivery riders who are members of the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA) and use motorcycles began receiving a 30-minute parking grace period at 12 CapitaLand malls starting July 1, 2023 [1, 2]. Prior to this, riders had only a 10-minute grace period, which often proved insufficient to pick up stacked orders.
Stacked orders, where riders collect two to three food deliveries from multiple outlets on different floors within a single mall, require longer waiting and walking times. The NDCA noted, "This often results in waiting longer for orders to be prepared and walking between several outlets to retrieve them" [1]. Muhammad Khairil, an NDCA member, said, "In eight in 10 instances when I am at a carpark of a shopping centre to pick up food orders, I will exceed the 10-minute parking grace period and forks out a parking fee" [1].
The 12 malls participating in the scheme are Aperia Mall, Bedok Mall, CQ @ Clarke Quay, IMM, Westgate, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Plaza Singapura, Funan, Raffles City, Sengkang Grand Mall, and Tampines Mall [1, 2]. Riders must register as NDCA members to qualify for the extended grace period [1, 2].
Previously, riders often paid parking fees of about $1.30 per entry when exceeding the 10-minute limit, which could amount to 10 to 20 percent of their earnings for a single delivery, which typically range from $3 to $5. Ng Gan Poh, another NDCA member, said, "Most of the time, the carpark charge is about 10 to 20 per cent of my earnings from one delivery" [2].
The grace period extension aimed to reduce parking fees and ease logistical challenges for riders handling multiple orders. The option helps riders better manage their time without incurring extra costs.
NDCA is also in talks with other mall operators to extend similar parking arrangements beyond CapitaLand properties [1, 2]. The extended parking grace period was first announced on June 5, 2023, during an event held at Tampines Mall [1, 2].