Silent Delivery: Practices and Challenges of Delivering Among Deaf or Hard of Hearing Couriers

This paper explores the motivations, practices, and challenges of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) couriers in China’s food delivery industry. Interviews reveal a preference for this industry due to better pay, job satisfaction, and community belonging. DHH couriers tend to and frequently disclose their DHH disability using platform tags and text messages. They also utilize accessible communication tools provided by the delivery platforms, such as AI voice calls, voice-to-text technologies, and electronic communication cards, to facilitate communication during the delivery process. Despite these technological aids, human intervention remains crucial throughout the delivery process. Challenges encountered include safety risks when riding mopeds, the complexities of multitasking, and user mistrust in AI voice calls. Our findings offer valuable insights for designing more inclusive delivery platforms and have broader implications for creating employment opportunities for DHH, particularly in developing countries.