Food Delivery Robots Considered By St. Pete Officials: Reports

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Food delivery robots, similar to those frequently seen in major cities like Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles, could be coming to St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to explore the possibility of bringing autonomous food delivery services to the city, according to multiple reports.

The discussion was centered on bringing these delivery services to “areas with a strong concentration of restaurants and cafes, in addition to areas with limited and restricted parking,” according to the new business item on the matter submitted by council member Deborah Figgs- Sanders for Thursday’s meeting agenda.

“When I was actually traveling, I experienced one of the autonomous food delivery services,” she told the St. Pete Catalyst. “It was so incredibly interesting and I thought, ‘Why can’t we do something like that?’”

The service could help relieve traffic and parking congestion in busy areas, she added.

Figgs-Sanders said during the meeting that a company approached the city two years ago about bringing these services to St. Pete.

“They completed all the documents, proof of insurance, and was supposed to start and for some reason did not,” she said.

The owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill, Mark Ferguson, told WFLA that a robot delivery service could bring him extra business while offering a unique experience to those visiting St. Petersburg.

Others opposed the plan, with one resident telling WFLA, “They should not be on the sidewalk. There’s not congestion on the sidewalk because it is. We don’t need any more. So yeah, I’m dead no on that.”

A resident working in food delivery told WTSP that he worried this would affect his job.

“It’s stressing me out,” he said. “I see it for what it is; it’s an attack on our collective livelihoods.”