Watch me join Ping, a 46 year old Malaysia, who earns money by doing food delivery by bicycle for 2-hours around lunch. I hopped on my Brompton and rode with Ping for 1½ hours to learn about how it is to do Food Panda delivery by bicycle :-)

I ask Ping questions about his reasons for choosing the bicycle as a means of transport in his daily life. His answers are:

Question 1: “Why did you decide to do food delivery by bicycle?”
The good thing about Food Panda is that you get to exercise a bit, and if you like bicycling, you get paid for it. My previous job was as tourist guide before the Covid-19 pandemic halted all tourism.

Question 2: “What does your family think about you bicycling for work?”
They worry about my safety, but I assure them that I only bicycle on safe roads.

Question 3: “How much to you earn from Food Panda food delivery?”
Most riders get paid RM4.50 per food delivery. But good performers earn RM5.00. During my 2-hour lunch shift (noon – 2 pm), I normally do 8-9 deliveries. Today, I earned about RM40 (USD10) for 2-hours work.

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Video highlights:
0:00 Interview question overview
0:49 How I met Ping
1:15 First food pick up :-)
3:51 Jalan Rozario (keep right!)
4:27 Filtering across the wide Jalan Tun Sambanthan
4:38 Bicycling up the ramp to KL Sentral (central train station)
6:53 Parking bicycles at KL Sentral
8:50 Using the MySejahtera app for Covid-19 contact tracing scanning when entering all buildings/restaurants/shops
9:30 Ping explaining why it is practical to use a cheap bicycle for Food Panda deliveries
11:23 First food delivery
11:53 Next food delivery is walking distance (Nu Sentral)
12:49 Ping tells how he got into bicycle food delivery (Food Panda). Previously, he worked in news paper distribution and then as a tourist guide.
14:34 Entering Nu Sentral Shopping mall
15:15 Ping explains why he prefers to do just the noon – 2 pm food delivery shift
15:46 Ping explains what he likes about bicycle food delivery, namely earning money while doing what you like, aka bicycling
16:26 Ping explains how he “re-discovered” bicycling about 10 years ago
20:24 Ping explains about his 6 bicycles, four of which are folding bicycles
23:04 Ping explains about how a fixed gear bicycle (fixie) was not good for his knees
23:45 Picking up food from restaurant
24:05 Ping explaining about the Food Panda app, which seems very user-friendly
24:39 Covid-19 temperature scanning. Persons above 37.5 degC will not be let in
26:07 Ping explains about his preferred food delivery shift and his preferred area (Brickfields and Bangsar); in other areas the roads a not bicycle-friendly and dangerous/almost impossible to cross.
28:55 Alarm by Food Panda app telling Ping to speed up his delivery
30:09 Ping explains how enjoys being brought to new places
30:53 Telling Ping about the famous and gruesome murder scene in Bangsar of Maria Theresa, cut into pieces and put in a trunk (1975)
34:09 Ping telling why he tries to avoid doing deliveries to Midvalley shopping mall
35:04 Ping explaining about the Food Panda rating system, and why you should try to stay above 90% rating for better payment/incentives
37:19 Back on the bicycles again. I’m telling Ping about my 3 bicycles
37:45 Ping clearly impressed that I own the Proton T-Bolt mountain bike (a collector’s item)
38:58 Filtering across the busy Jalan Tun Sambanthan
40:18 Picking up food from Chennai Spice restaurant @ Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur
41:41 The shortest delivery ever! [ha, ha, good fun 😊]
43:50 Having a closer look at the steering lock, not a common sight
45:47 Bicycling through restaurant (almost)
47:06 Food Panda sign-off procedure when picking up food
47:51 Ping explains most Food Panda delivery personnel that walk, end up getting themselves a bicycle. More convenient / faster.
48:27 Entering beautiful umbrella alley. I never knew that it existed – nice surprise!
50:44 Dismantling of the ridiculous overhead pedestrian bridge built with a lift on both sides, but for crossing a very small road only (Jalan Tun Sambathan 4). Seems like a waste of money…..
51:29 Ping telling about his family’s concern for him bicycling in Kuala Lumpur
54:58 Ping explaining the flexible shifts by Food Panda
55:34 Ping telling about how much one earns from doing food delivery for Food Panda
56:48 The joy of observing the city an its historical buildings
56:57 Ping telling about the Sam Kow Tong Temple and how it houses three different teachings (Buddhism, Taoism and Confusianism)
57:11 Talking about the many different places of worship found in Brickfields. Interesting.
57:57 Video camera out of battery, so giving quick summary of Ping’s 9 deliveries today and his earnings from this 2-hour shift.
58:10 Bicycle route map and statistics, but only for the last 48 minutes of the ride (extending beyond the video)
58:15 Riding statistics on elevation gain, speed and heart rate

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Bicycle map route:
  / strava