Meituan Extends Delivery Times at Red Lights in Beijing Pilot, Targeting 1 Million Couriers by 2026
Meituan has launched a pilot of its red light stop timer feature in Beijing's Chaoyang, Tongzhou and economic development zones, automatically extending delivery times when couriers wait at red lights. The feature, already live in Suzhou, compensates for delays at intersections where red lights can last up to 180 seconds. More than 20 cities including Wuxi, Shanghai and Hangzhou are evaluating rollout conditions, with plans to cover one million couriers by 2026. Meituan will also upgrade customer-facing pages to show real-time road conditions to reduce order-conflict disputes.
Meituan has formally begun piloting its red light stop timer function in Beijing's Chaoyang District, Tongzhou District and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The feature automatically extends delivery time when a courier waits at a red light, following its earlier rollout in Suzhou. During the pilot, red lights at some intersections can last as long as 180 seconds, and consecutive red lights can easily push deliveries past their deadlines. The feature's time-compensation mechanism is designed to alleviate such situations.
More than 20 cities, including Wuxi, Shanghai and Hangzhou, are evaluating the conditions for deploying the feature, with the platform planning to cover one million couriers within 2026. Meituan will subsequently upgrade its customer-facing pages so that users can view couriers' real-time road conditions, with the aim of reducing disputes during delivery arising from customers' repeated requests to expedite orders.
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