# Impending Bloodshed ?



## Hugh G (Sep 22, 2016)

*North Hobart traders sick of Uber Eats drivers 'using the street as a taxi rank'*

By Leon Compton
20th sep 2018, 8:20pm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-20/elizabeth-street-traders-v-uber-eats-parking-space/10287836









PHOTO: Gary Martin says he has never seen conflict like it. (ABC News: Leon Compton)

Frustrations between traders on Elizabeth Street in North Hobart and Uber Eats drivers over parking spaces are likely to end in violence, according to the local newsagency owner.

In over two decades of operating the newsagency, Gary Martin says he has never seen conflict like it.

Traders want to see as many parking spaces as possible free for their customers but say Uber Eats drivers waiting for orders had clogged up prime car park spaces.

Mr Martin said on Wednesday night he was forced to step in to separate drivers and a shop owner engaged in a "slanging match".

"It's terrible. It's disgusting," Mr Martin said.

"It's going to be a bloodbath in the finish".

Angry shop owners said drivers would often sit in their vehicles for an hour waiting for a job.

"I see money drive down the street. My patrons consistently tell me they can't get spots and they just drive away," said John Kelly, owner of the State Cinema and President of the North Hobart Traders Association.

PHOTO: John Kelly says it's a thorny issue among the local shop owners and residents. (ABC News: Leon Compton)

He aknowledges that some restaurants liked the service but said it was a "thorny issue".

"We don't oppose Uber Eats [but] we do oppose them using the street as a taxi rank," Mr Kelly said.

"It's turned the street into a carpark."

PHOTO: Some traders are calling for a waiting rank to be created specifically for delivery drivers. (ABC News: Leon Compton)

He agrees that growing tensions will lead to bloodshed if something isn't done.

"It's got to be addressed or there's going to be violence," Mr Kelly said.

But there is no solution to the issue in sight.

Long-serving Alderman and local restaurateur Marti Zucco said he has received many calls about the issue from angry business owners.

"[In the short-term] it needs the backing company [Uber] to tell their drivers not to park in the prime spots around North Hobart because you're doing an injustice to your organisation and the community in general," Alderman Zucco said.

"This is a very serious situation and the last thing I want is violence happening on the streets of North Hobart."

A group of Uber Eats drivers who service Elizabeth Street regularly said they could feel tensions rising on the strip.

One of the drivers, who wished not to be identified, said he had reported threats from shop owners to Tasmania Police twice in recent weeks.

But Uber Eats said the issue with inadequate parking had long been a problem and is laying blame with the local council.

"This is a failure of the council for not at least implementing some more carparking in a very busy strip of Hobart," Alderman Zucco said.

*Solutions under consideration*
The Hobart City Council wrote to traders last week and announced that monitoring surveys were being undertaken to help come up with a solution.

They also said increased patrols, a review of parking times, vehicle detection sensors and a dedicated layover zone for Uber Eats drivers were being considered.

There are also calls for a waiting rank for the drivers to be created off Elizabeth Street.

But anecdotally local residents in those streets are also frustrated.

"I even heard the other night they were parked in Pitt Street and the neighbours had got together, the community, and are letting all the tyres down on them," Mr Martin said.

Uber Eats Tasmania said recent correspondence from Hobart City Council had been passed onto drivers.

"We are currently talking to council about solutions to help improve the pick-up experience that makes sense for residents, businesses and restaurants in the area," the company said in a statement.

The ABC understands those solutions may include messages or alarms being sent to drivers logged on to the app who have been standing parking zones in Elizabeth Street for excessive periods.


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## Who is John Galt? (Sep 28, 2016)

Hugh G said:


> *North Hobart traders sick of Uber Eats drivers 'using the street as a taxi rank'*


Lordy!! * Blood at the Airport * in Melbourne, 'Blood in the Streets' in Hobart, 'Blood on the Tracks' in Bob's album and 'Blood on the Dance Floor' in Michael's song.

Do as they did in Melbourne. Call in the Federal Police. We need more * senators *.

.


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## Lowestformofwit (Sep 2, 2016)

In breaking news, police will also be clamping down on Eats drivers wearing excessively tight underwear.
One concerned driver, worries the crackdown it may be taken to extreme lengths. 
He sas quoted as saying “It’ll turn into a ballroom blitz”.


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

Any drivers are entitled to park on the street provided they don’t exceed any time limit at the applicable time as evidenced by the signs in the photo.


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## BuckleUp (Jan 18, 2018)

Just handle it the old fashioned way, like they used to do in Sunshine in the late 80s when Franco Cozzo was having his famous sales and the streets were jammed.


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