DUBAI (The Thursday Times) — Delivery riders in the UAE will no longer be allowed to carry orders in backpacks or give anyone a lift while working from January 1, under new federal traffic regulations that also require them to use approved equipment, wear a uniform and carry a valid professional permit.
The rules are set out in Cabinet Decision No. 174 of 2026, which puts into effect Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024 on the regulation of traffic. Riders on motorcycles licensed for delivery work must not carry a passenger behind them during deliveries, and must carry orders in approved equipment instead of backpacks. They must also log in to the approved system installed in their vehicles, wear the prescribed uniform and carry their professional driving permit, showing it when asked. Working without a valid permit, or with an expired one, is banned, as is carrying prohibited goods or anything that violates public order.
For every motorcyclist: helmets are compulsory. Riders may not ride with no hands or one hand on the handlebars except to signal, weave through traffic or ride at dangerous speeds, and must ride in single file unless conditions require otherwise. Passengers may be carried only on motorcycles equipped for them, and a motorcycle may not be towed by another vehicle.
Watched on the road: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority plans to use cameras and smart sensors to track delivery riders’ speed, location and driving behaviour, and smart monitoring will become mandatory for delivery motorcycles in the emirate after June 2027.
The delivery rules are part of a wider overhaul of the traffic law that takes effect on the same day, capping drivers at nine hours at the wheel in any 24, limiting each person to five registered vehicles and making child seats compulsory for children aged four and under. Many of the riders who carry the country’s food and parcel orders come from South Asia, including large numbers of Pakistanis.
Fines for breaking the new delivery rules have not yet been published.
