Two Delivery Robots Crash Into Chicago Bus Shelters

Two food delivery robots crashed into Chicago bus shelters this week, shattering glass and scattering debris on sidewalks, in incidents that have heightened concerns over the safety of the devices operating under a city pilot program.

The first collision occurred Sunday in the West Town neighborhood, near the intersection of West Grand and North Racine avenues. Surveillance footage showed a robot owned by Serve Robotics plowing into a glass panel of a Chicago Transit Authority bus shelter, leaving shards strewn across the sidewalk and atop the device. The robot, which continued rolling through the wreckage before stopping, was captured in a video that amassed over 3.6 million views on social media platform X by Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, a similar incident unfolded in the Old Town area on the Near North Side, near North Avenue and Larrabee Street. A robot operated by Coco Robotics struck another bus shelter, also breaking its glass enclosure. Witnesses described hearing the impact and seeing the robot at the scene amid the debris. No injuries were reported in either case, but local residents expressed alarm over potential risks to pedestrians.