Photo/Illutration A delivery worker of Uber Eats Japan Inc. in Tokyo. The photo is not related to the traffic accident case. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo prosecutors have indicted a bicycle deliveryman for Uber Eats Japan Inc. on a charge of professional negligence resulting in death, implying that the company’s speed-based payment program led to the fatality.

According to prosecutors and other sources, the 28-year-old bicycle deliverer hit a 78-year-old man at an intersection in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward around 7:05 p.m. on April 17. The man died two days later of a cerebral contusion.

For bicycle accidents that cause casualties, charges of negligence resulting in death or injury are usually applied if the cyclist is at fault.

But in this case, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office used the “professional negligence” charge because the bicycle rider was working at the time, and aspects of his job led to reckless behavior that put other people in danger of injury or death, sources said.

The indictment was dated Dec. 8 last year.

The bicycle used by the suspect was a racing road bike that was not equipped with lighting devices. It was raining at the time of the accident, and the raindrops hitting the rider’s glasses further obscured his vision, the sources said.

He was traveling at a speed ranging between 20 kph and 25 kph when he hit the man, the sources said.

Uber Eats uses the “Quest” program that provides extra payments to deliverers if they complete a certain number of orders in a certain period of time, including during bad weather conditions.

Tokyo police had investigated the Uber Eats cyclist on suspicion of gross negligence resulting in death.

But prosecutors charged him with professional negligence resulting in death because he was speeding on a high-performance road bike in an apparent attempt to receive additional payments through the Quest program, the sources said.

Hironori Niwa, a lawyer who specializes in traffic accident cases, said the case could be a wake-up call for delivery companies.

“If deliverers can receive extra money based on the number of deliveries they complete within a limited period, they will, of course, speed up as much as possible, thereby increasing the risk of accidents,” Niwa said. “It cannot be denied that the business program led to that accident. The case should raise alarms about a system that puts more priority on profits than safety.”

An Uber Easts official told The Asahi Shimbun, “We will strengthen traffic safety education for our delivery workers.”

But the official declined to discuss the indictment, saying only, “We can’t make any comments because the case is under investigation.”

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