At its Thursday meeting, the St. Petersburg City Council unanimously voted to explore autonomous food delivery services. The concept seems straight of The Jetsons: companies can use self-driving robots that travel on sidewalks to bring items to customers.
Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders believes the technology could be beneficial for residents and local businesses. She submitted the new business item request.
“When I was actually traveling, I experienced one of the autonomous food delivery services,” Figgs-Sanders explained to the Catalyst. “It was so incredibly interesting and I thought ‘why can’t we do something like that?’”
Councilwoman Deborah Figgs-Sanders. Photo by Bill DeYoung.
She argued that parking has become a challenge in St. Petersburg, especially as the city continues to grow. This could provide some relief. Additionally, Figgs-Sanders believes that services could reduce the city’s carbon footprint, because there would be less cars on the street.
“It would also increase the economic impact for our smaller businesses, especially our restaurants that are downtown,” she said. “It would definitely increase the opportunities for our small businesses to outreach their services.”
The Covid-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Figgs-Sanders added, had an undeniable impact on local establishments. Owners are “still reeling back” from these experiences.
While there are a variety of benefits to autonomous food delivery, she acknowledged that there could be downsides as well. Figgs-Sanders said that some business owners may complain that the robots are driving on the sidewalk, especially when they are near outside dining areas.
“You may have an issue with them not being able to pass some of the tables and chairs,” she explained. “Of course with anything, although you have to have a code to get into these boxes, you still may have theft.”
With the Thursday approval, the new business item will be brought to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee or other relevant committee. Figgs-Sanders hopes that Council members discuss actions the City can take to encourage autonomous food delivery services as well as potential regulation efforts.
“I wanted to have the conversation because I wanted to get my colleagues’ input as to what they think the potential would be for this.”
A discussion would allow City officials from the transportation and legal departments to provide their opinions on the topic as well. Figgs-Sanders explained that “there may be things that I haven’t thought about with this.”
Autonomous food delivery is already happening in the state. In November 2025, Coco Robotics and DoorDash expanded their partnership to Miami. Serve Robotics introduced its Uber Eats delivery service in Fort Lauderdale a month later. The company also operates in Miami.
Additionally, Serve Robotics oversees services in U.S. cities such as Atlanta, Dallas and Chicago. Alongside Uber Eats, the company has partnered with organizations including 7-Eleven, Delivery Hero and DoorDash.
“I think that it is something that will be doable and definitely acceptable for our city,” Figgs-Sanders added. “I just think it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to explore.”