Phone call while riding among delivery workers: The Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

With the rapid growth of online food delivery services, the population of delivery workers has reached 13 million in China. Most of them use electric bicycles (e-bikes) as their primary transportation tool. On the other hand, mobile phone call (MPC), as the primary and most effective communication method for delivery workers, induces distracted riding and threatens traffic safety. Although MPC has been extensively investigated in driving-related research, MPC among delivery workers has not yet been investigated. In this study, a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior has been designed to investigate social-psychological factors leading to MPC among delivery workers. 150 delivery workers participated in this study. The structural equation model method was adopted to analyze the data. The results show that injunctive norm is positively associated with MPC behaviors; but descriptive norm is negatively associated with MPC behaviors, potentially because of the selective perception phenomenon.