Safety concerns over delivery robots on Gloucester Road after close call with councillor's dog
The trial of delivery robots has raised questions about pedestrian safety
Safety fears over delivery robots on Gloucester Road as councillor’s dog almost ran over
New delivery robots on Gloucester Road have sparked safety fears after a councillor’s dog was almost run over. Small robots have been delivering takeaways in the Gloucester Road area since last month as part of a trial launched by Just Eat.
Bristol City Council was not informed about the trial in advance and does not have a policy on the use of delivery robots. It’s unclear what powers the council has to manage them, if any. Council staff have been asked to investigate how the trial is being conducted and what permission was required.
The robots were raised during a member forum meeting on Tuesday, March 10. During the meeting it emerged that Green Councillor Emma Edwards’s dog, Flora, narrowly avoided getting hit by a robot. Responding to the concerns, Just Eat said that they had not been contacted by the council with any specific concerns, and risk assessments were carried out ahead of the trial.
Green Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport policy committee, said: “Emma’s dog was nearly run over by one of these a couple of days ago. It’s a very small dog so it may be that the tech bros need to do some more work. But there’s a wider point here. We’ve got people like this company dumping risk onto the people of Bristol.
“They’re paying very low wages, they’re not assessing the safety of the vehicles being used from which they’re deriving profit, they’re putting a lot of risk on the people who work for them, but that risk is being externalised onto the people of Bristol, whether that’s robots or human beings powering what are basically illegal vehicles on the road.”
The delivery robots were designed specifically for pedestrian environments and operate at low speeds on pavements. The trial is in partnership with Delivers.AI, and Just Eat says they have not been contracted by the council with any specific concerns.
Cllr Plowden added: “It’s about time we collectively as a nation got a grip of the technology industry making money on the backs of hard-working restaurants and delivery people, and putting risk on our streets. I would like to see something that cracks down and forces some of these, what I would call rogue operators, to get proper licensing and health and safety into their operations.”
Just Eat said that extensive planning and risk assessments were carried out as part of the trial. The company has also been working with a road safety charity too. Couriers are independent self-employed contractors, and the company says it cannot dictate choices on their vehicles, but there are processes in place to ensure vehicles are used safely and legally.
A Just Eat spokesperson said: “We’re proud to play an active role in communities across the UK, including Bristol, helping local restaurants to reach more customers and to grow. We work hard to operate in a safe and responsible way, collaborating closely with local authorities.
“We have clear guidelines in place to ensure our independent couriers meet all licensing and insurance requirements. We also regularly share with them up-to-date safety information and last year we were the first delivery aggregator to partner with leading road safety charity Brake.
“We’re currently working with an expert partner on a small-scale ground robotics trial in Bristol. As in any town or city where these personal delivery devices are used there has been extensive planning and risk assessment to ensure the technology can safely travel through the local environment. We’ll continue to gather feedback from the community on the trial.”
Just Eat regularly reminds couriers about the dangers of illegally modifying electric bikes. According to the company, couriers earn on average significantly over the national living wage for the time they are on an order.