By Saria Ratnam
Business owners in Melbourne’s most-frequented shopping strips are fighting back against the reckless behaviour of e-bike delivery riders, citing high speeds, illegal footpath riding and collisions with pedestrians.
Sam Aldemir, owner of De Barcelona cafe in Hawthorn, is one of the traders taking matters into their own hands, filming and reporting incidents to the police, while his local community has been handing out flyers to shops and riders outlining the rules.
Sam Aldemir, owner of De Barcelona cafe in Hawthorn, is encouraging delivery riders to stay on the road.Credit: Eddie Jim
He said he witnessed several distressing collisions outside his business.
“I’ve witnessed three incidents where they’ve careered into pedestrians. I’ve witnessed one where it was a senior citizen, where they actually hit this particular gentleman from behind, and they’re on their bikes,” said Aldemir, who is also president of the Glenferrie Traders Association. “It’s just become a lawless sort of environment.”
There’s one crucial law that he has seen continually flouted: the prohibition of riding on footpaths.
“What they do is they now disobey the laws flagrantly. So they’re on the footpath with their motorised [bicycles], which is illegal.”
Kerry Daly, manager of the Camberwell City Traders Association, shares this concern, noting that even push-bikes aren’t allowed on footpaths, let alone e-bikes operating at much higher speeds.
As an e-bike rider herself, she also recognises the difference between a standard electric bike and the modified models she has seen delivery workers using.
“I have an electric bike that’s, you know, just a standard daggy old bike that happens to give me an extra push up the hill,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s capable of doing more than I could almost walk myself. But the ones that you see [delivery workers using] don’t seem to be those. They seem to be ... they operate like a motorbike ... they’re not pedalling, they’re just riding them.”
A food delivery e-bike rider rides on the footpath on Glenferrie Road, HawthornCredit: Eddie Jim
On Victorian roads, electric bikes cannot have motors that operate at speeds above 25km/h.
However, bikes with more powerful motors are still permitted on private properties, and as such can be legally imported and sold in Australia.
Business owners and community representatives are keen to see more stringent regulations and new approaches.
Daly suggests that the onus should be on delivery companies to educate their workers on road rules before they are allowed to begin working.
Phillip Mansour, executive officer of Carlton Inc, the trading association for the Lygon Street area, wants signs reminding e-bike and e-scooter riders not to be on the footpath attached to the back of existing parking signs along the street.
“All the infrastructure is already there – it essentially requires the same infrastructure, and [we] just put another sign on the back.”
There have also been widespread calls for individual e-bikes to be properly registered, as distinct from push-bikes and motorbikes.
The coroner called for e-bikes to be categorised as motorbikes following the death of delivery worker Nitin Haldipur Prabhu, a change that would require e-bike riders to wear more protective gear, including a motorcycle helmet, but this might also allow the riding of e-bikes on freeways, which would likely increase risks for delivery workers.
Sam Aldemir, owner of De Barcelona cafe in Hawthorn, has taken e-bike concerns into his own hands, setting up his own delivery platform and handing leaflets out to riders.Credit: Eddie Jim
In the absence of strong government or council action, some business owners and citizens are stepping up.
Aldemir, along with other businesses on Glenferrie Road, has tapped into a network of international students from the nearby Swinburne University, attempting to set up his own delivery platform so that he can educate e-bike riders and regulate their behaviour.
“I’m trying to use their network, because there’s a lot of international students who need jobs, so we’re trying to get them to, you know, jump on bikes and use the system properly, not illegally.”
Aldemir and Daly acknowledge that delivery e-bike riders aren’t going away, with their behaviour also stemming from a place of necessity and vulnerability.
“We all want our food delivered, and we all need people who are prepared to do that job,” Daly notes.
Aldemir has made an effort to understand the conditions delivery workers are facing. Most delivery companies do not provide an hourly wage, forcing workers to try and complete as many deliveries as possible, often working for multiple companies at the same time.
“What the riders are telling me is that they’re just like, they’re making, on average, about $7 to $10 an hour. So it’s below minimum wage,” he said. “We’re not that heartless, but they’ve just got to observe the law. They’ve got to be safe for their own benefit as well, not only for our community. It’s for their benefit.”
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