Chapel St: Push to avoid UberEats as Police plan crackdown on illegal and unsafe delivery drivers

Suspected illegal UberEats drivers are causing havoc on a popular Melbourne shopping strip and are intimidating locals, with calls growing to boycott the delivery service.

UberEats delivery bike riders are on Police’s radar for dangerous behaviour on Chapel Street. File picture.

The head of a traders association on a busy Melbourne strip says residents are feeling intimidated by food delivery drivers, and has urged diners to boycott them.

Chapel Street Precinct general manager Chrissie Maus said she feared the behaviour of delivery drivers for UberEats and other services were putting pedestrians at risk.

“We have had many businesses reach out to us concerned about Uber bikes blocking pedestrian paths, and also complaints about them hanging in packs on corners, and some residents are finding this intimidating,” she said.

Ms Maus said the association had received more than 20 complaints in recent months about the delivery drivers’ behaviour, which it had passed on to police.

It comes as Stonnington police plan a dedicated operation in the next few weeks targeting delivery drivers on motorbikes and Vespas in the Chapel Street precinct.

Prahran police Acting Sergeant Donna MacDonald said officers were concerned some drivers were overseas students on expired visas, while others could be using dodgy and non-roadworthy bikes.

“A lot of the drivers are often from an Indian background, and are meant to be students and not meant to be working,” she said.

Acting Sgt MacDonald said at least three complaints had been made to police recently about delivery driver behaviour in the area.

“Often they don’t have headlights working, their motorbikes are unroadworthy and they are doing illegal U-turns,” she said.

“It’s an ongoing issue and has been for quite some time … in the last six months it’s really come to our attention.”

Acting Sgt MacDonald said UberEats had declined to partner with police for the operation, while Border Force and WorkSafe officials could be involved.

Ms Maus said delivery driver behaviour was a serious issue which it had been working on with Prahran police “for many months”.

When asked about Border Force involvement, she said the precinct would “support anything that would work to keep our iconic community safer”.

Ms Maus encouraged Chapel St diners to order and collect menu items directly and bypass food delivery services.

“This way all the money goes to the small business and the exorbitant commissions of up to 35 per cent being charged by the likes of Uber, Menulog and Deliveroo are avoided, and all the money goes to the people who need it the most,” Ms Maus said.

A spokesperson for the Australian Border Force said: “ABF takes migrant worker exploitation very seriously and is committed to identifying and disrupting those involved in the deliberate exploitation of foreign workers and Australia’s visa and migration programs.’’