Ministers are likely to support a change in the law to allow autonomous delivery robots on England's pavements, paving the way for large-scale deployment of up to 10,000 robots by US firm Starship Technologies. The move has prompted concern from safety campaigners who warn that the robots will crowd already congested footways and pose risks to vulnerable pedestrians.
Current Legal Grey Area
Low-speed delivery robots, which mainly transport groceries or takeaway food, are already in use in a handful of English towns and cities including Cambridge, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Leeds, and Barnsley. However, they operate in a regulatory grey area because the 1835 Highways Act bans “carriages” from pavements. The government plans to resolve this by updating laws on micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters, placing delivery robots in the same category after a consultation exercise.
Starship Technologies' Expansion Plans
San Francisco-based Starship Technologies, founded by two co-founders of Skype, hopes to flood the English market with more than 10,000 robots and has promised to set up a manufacturing site in the UK if the law is clarified. The company stated last year that it “owns” robot delivery in the European urban market and, with new funding, aims to expand hugely in the UK.
Safety Concerns Raised by Campaigners
The pedestrian safety charity Living Streets has written to transport secretary Heidi Alexander urging caution. The charity is launching a campaign called Pavement Overload to highlight the increasingly crowded state of footways. In its letter, Living Streets warned that widespread use of delivery robots is likely to create hazards when robots encounter pedestrians with insufficient space to pass. “This is especially dangerous when they may be a wheelchair user with no dropped kerb nearby or a blind person with a guide dog trained not to take them onto the road,” the letter states. “Delivery robots add to existing pavement congestion, present navigation hazards that are not reliably detectable by white cane or guide dog, and occupy space that accessible design and decades of campaigning have worked hard to protect.”
Evidence of Problems
Living Streets has released a video showing robots bumping into pedestrians or forcing them out of the way. The charity's chief executive, Catherine Woodhead, said: “We believe that pavements are for people, and the operation of robots puts the safety of pedestrians at risk, particularly for those with mobility issues. Our pavements are already lousy with dangerous obstacles, from pavement parking to wheelie bins, preventing many disabled people from leaving their homes.”
Government Response
A government spokesperson said: “We welcome innovation and advances in technology have the potential to boost our economy, but it’s vital the safety of pedestrians and vulnerable road users is put first. We will update the law for delivery robots as soon as parliamentary time allows and following public consultation.”
Demands for Pedestrian Safety
Living Streets is demanding that any consultation on changing the law be “designed with pedestrian safety and accessibility as baseline requirements, not as afterthoughts.” The charity also noted that in Sheffield, a Starship Technologies hub was installed at a scout hut without the council or local people being informed, highlighting concerns about the lack of transparency in current trials.
