Baltimore County, Md., on Tuesday imposed a limit on the fees charged to restaurants by third-party delivery providers.
County Executive Johnny Olszewski issued an order capping fees at 15% of the order total.
It is the latest in a recent flurry of municipalities capping delivery fees. In the past week, Santa Clara County, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; Minneapolis; and Oregon have also taken similar measures, joining dozens of cities and counties across the U.S. to have done so since the pandemic began.
Baltimore County is home to more than 800,000 people; it does not include the city of Baltimore.
The caps are intended to help struggling restaurants that have come to depend more on delivery with dining rooms closed or limited. Delivery providers typically take a cut of 30% to cover things like driver pay and marketing. While many restaurants support the caps, the providers have said it will force them to pass costs to the consumer.
“By capping the fees that these third-party delivery services can charge, we can ensure more of our money goes where it belongs: in the pockets of our community’s restaurant owners and their staff,” Olszewski said in a statement.
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