Food delivery robots in Chicago have turned the city’s sidewalks into a safety “hazard,” plowing into two bus shelters this week and colliding with fed-up pedestrians, according to reports.
Locals are sounding the alarm after two robo couriers – one owned by Serve Robotics and the other by Coco Robotics – rammed into glass panels of two bus shelters on separate occasions while navigating the city’s sidewalks, leaving shattered debris strewn across the ground, CBS Chicago reported.
One crash occurred Sunday in West Town, and the other Tuesday afternoon in the Near North Side.
“This is a hazard to people’s safety,” Jillian Grazioso told the outlet.
Shocking footage of Sunday’s incident showed Serve’s rogue delivery bot “Nasir” smash into the glass panel of a bus shelter near West Grand and North Racine. The crash left shards of glass scattered on the sidewalk and atop the bot, which then tried to roll through the wreckage, FOX 32 reported.
Similar chaos caused by the Coco robot in the Old Town neighborhood was captured by CBS Chicago.
“I hear the noise, so I look out, and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ and I see the robot,” nearby barber Anthony Spaulding said of Tuesday’s crash.
“I said this is happening all the time, every time you look up, the robot comes through, bumping into people.”
No one was injured in either crash, but residents fear future incidents could lead to serious harm.
Both tech companies released statements saying they were aware of the incidents, quickly cleaned up the mess, and are investigating. Both Coco and Serve are also reportedly covering the cost of the repairs.
“This is something we take seriously and is well outside the norm of our operations,” Coco said in a statement to CBS about its delivery robots, which are virtually monitored by humans.
“Across more than one million miles of deliveries, this is the first time one of our robots has collided with a structure like this. Our robots operate at a top speed of about 5 miles per hour, and safety is a top priority in how we design and monitor our systems.”
Serve – whose bots operate autonomously unless human intervention is needed – also noted the violent impact was an unusual occurrence.
Both companies are currently operating in parts of Chicago under a pilot program passed in 2022.
A petition to pause the program has since garnered more than 3,7000 signatures.
