1Fetch Motorbike Courier Services

“We are living through unprecedented times,” says Jason Psillos, the CEO of 1Fetch. “It is the equivalent of this generation’s World War, only the enemy is an invisible one and at the moment we have no weapons to defeat it.”

Psillos heads up 1Fetch, a Johannesburg-based motorbike courier service, whereby orders may be placed through either the app or website (www.1fetch.co.za). The service differs from a traditional courier service as 1Fetch essentially provides its users with access to their own personal driver. It is an on-demand service and orders are delivered directly from the collection to the destination.

“We are not playing in the traditional courier space but rather focusing on express or on-demand deliveries executed on the same day. The full delivery cycle normally takes about three hours from the time the order is placed,” says Psillos.

With the lockdown being enforced from midnight on 26 March 2020 until 16 April, many businesses have obviously had no choice but to close their doors over the period. The only exceptions are those companies that provide essential goods and services as defined in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002.

1Fetch has a number of clients that provide essential goods and services and by virtue of the work that it does for these clients, it too qualifies as an essential services provider. So, 1Fetch is open for business during the lockdown, however, it may only deliver packages that qualify as essential goods or services.

1Fetch will be following prudent hygiene guidelines on collection and delivery in order to help both its customers and drivers reduce the risk of contracting the virus. All drivers will continually be sanitising their hands and bike equipment and customers are now not required to sign on the glass when accepting delivery. Drivers wear both masks and gloves and the delivery is contactless, meaning that the drivers will collect and place the packages as instructed by the client, thereby avoiding contact. Customers are also urged to sanitise before handing over or accepting packages.

“Although, as many people have said, the world will probably be a different place when we are over this virus, I look forward to the day we can all be out and about engaging openly and freely, even though a colour-coordinated face mask might be the new fashion accessory for all.”