Wolli Creek residents say they are contending with cars parked across driveways and anti-social behaviour including littering and urinating from drivers in Uber’s increasingly crowded “holding lot”,a group of streets where drivers wait for jobs from the nearby international airport.
A map for drivers on Uber’s website outlines the boundaries of the holding lot,a group of suburban streets near Cahill Park,and shows drivers the route to travel to the airport once they have been assigned a trip.
Wolli Creek resident Rhondda Orchard is frustrated by the proliferation of ride share vehicles in her local area.Flavio Brancaleone
Sydney Airport said it was working with Bayside Council and Uber on a possible solution to the situation,which it acknowledged was causing headaches for residents.
“We understand this is frustrating for the local community and work is currently underway at the airport to activate an appropriate area within the international precinct to function as a holding space to support ride-share vehicles,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson said.
Ride-share drivers wanting to pick up passengers from the domestic airport can park in a lot on the site of the airport. Taxis have access to holding areas for all terminals.
Between 2016 and 2023,ride-share pickups increased from 7 per cent to 39 per cent of all car pickups from the airport. In the same time,the proportion of taxi pick-ups fell from 77 per cent to 48 per cent.
A motion acknowledging residents’ frustrations and commissioning Bayside Council’s Transport Committee to investigate solutions with the airport passed unanimously at a council meeting on Wednesday night.
“Significant representation from residents in the Wolli Creek area has brought this issue to the forefront,prompting concerns about traffic congestion,safety,and the overall impact on local streets,” read a supporting statement from councillors.
Uber’s website directs drivers to park in the streets of Wolli Creek for international airport trips.Uber
In a local Facebook group,residents have alleged drivers are not only parked illegally,but also litter and urinate on the street while waiting for their call from the app.
Rhondda Orchard moved to Wolli Creek at the end of 2022. It was about mid-2023 that she and her husband started to become frustrated by Uber drivers parking in Innesdale and Gertrude streets,including across the entrance to their building’s car park.
“All the street parking is taken up,not by residents but by Uber drivers,” said Orchard,who has repeatedly reported illegally parked cars across driveways and in No Stopping zones to the Snap,Send Solve app as well as directly to Bayside Council.
Residents first brought the issue to public attention in early 2020,however the impact of the pandemic on international travel meant it was not a problem again until mid-2022.
Google Maps images of the streets taken last year show most parked cars had a driver sitting in the vehicle. In January,council rangers issued more than 80 parking fines during a three-day blitz of the area.
Bayside Councillor Jo Jansyn,who brought the motion to last week’s meeting,said council was in communication with the airport,looking for a solution.
“It’s a big issue for residents,” she said. “We’ve got a great space there with Cahill Park and all of the facilities there but there are major concerns about double-parking,illegal parking,blocking corners and creating a traffic bottleneck.“
A spokesperson for Uber said it had sent out communications to drivers to remind them of their obligations to treat the area with respect after being made aware of the reported conduct of some drivers waiting for trips in the streets surrounding the airport.
“We are continuing to work with Sydney Airport to identify opportunities to develop a dedicated waiting area for Uber driver-partners at the international terminal at some time in the future,” they said.