Extreme weather is making life harder for Vietnam’s delivery riders

Just this month, northern Vietnam has been hit by super typhoon Yagi, the strongest in decades. Earlier this year, Ho Chi Minh City residents experienced the longest heat wave in three decades. Temperatures consistently exceeded 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), reaching a high of 39 C. People retreated to their homes and air-conditioned offices. But gig workers for platforms like Grab, Be, and ShopeeFood had no choice but to power on, delivering food and packages, and driving people in the sweltering heat.

Since the Singapore-based super app Grab launched motorbike ride-hailing and delivery in Vietnam in 2014, gig drivers have become the lifeblood of Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam’s rideshare industry was valued at $727 million in 2023, and is set to grow by 2.5 times by 2029.

This has created jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers in a country where most people already own and ride a motorbike. But high temperatures and frequent flooding in Ho Chi Minh City have made their work increasingly tough and dangerous.

Several workers told Rest of World that delivering food in near 40-degree heat had made them sick and unable to work for days. During the rainy season, which typically lasts for seven months, flood risks loom, posing threats to drivers and their motorbikes.

Gig workers aren’t considered employees by the platforms under Vietnamese law, and so don’t receive benefits in case of occupational accidents or diseases. As they rely on their daily earnings to survive, workers often face the near-impossible choice of logging off without pay, or powering through a dangerously hot day.

To offer some respite, driver communities and individuals have set up rest spots in the city, where they can stop for some shade and free iced tea. A gig worker association has also raised funds to support members with free bike repairs. Some drivers have resorted to driving in the evenings only. Many hope to eventually find a less perilous job. As one driver put it, “I cannot do this forever.” ▰

Rest of World is an international nonprofit journalism organization. We document what happens when technology, culture and the human experience collide, in places that are typically overlooked and underestimated.