Uber Eats delivery robots are AXED from major UK city after fierce backlash saw them plastered with graffiti

UBER Eats delivery robots have been axed in a major city after the robots were vandalised and plastered with graffiti. Fierce backlash against the robots saw them regularly targeted, leading to an end of the five-month trial. Uber Eats delivery robots have been axed from a major city after just five months Credit: Uber / Starship Starship Technologies has pulled its all-electric, autonomous delivery robots from Sheffield, just months after launching in the city. During the trial, the Uber Eats branded robots were subject to vandalism, including graffiti sprayed across the sides and visibility flags purposefully being snapped off. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Some angry Sheffielders even trapped the robots with traffic cones to stop them from moving around. Now, the small six-wheeler machines will no longer operate on Sheffield’s streets until the results of the trial are assessed. Ryan Case, Public affairs and communication manager at Starship Technologies, said: “Our pilot in Sheffield has now come to an end, and we have paused the service while we review what we’ve learned. “We’ll assess the results of the pilot before deciding on any future deployments of robots in the city. The robots have been covered in graffiti and stickers throughout the trial Credit: MEN Media “We regularly assess a number of areas across the UK, and Sheffield remains one of them.” Launching in the Meersbrook and Heeley areas of Sheffield in March this year, the 1ft 10inch robots were deployed to offer deliveries to around 50,000 households in the city. Most read in Money Starship suggests the vehicles can complete journeys of up to two miles in less than half an hour, moving at a “brisk walking pace”. Inside, the machines can fit up to three shopping bags filled with hot, chilled and frozen products, with insulated compartments to make sure the food stays fresh. The introduction of the vehicles sparked immediate backlash from disability campaigners and pedestrian rights groups, who raised concerns about the machines operating on footpaths. Soon, robots were emblazoned with stickers reading “Pedestrians good luck” and graffiti with the words “off our streets”, with residents calling them a “bit sinister”. When asked if the axing of the Sheffield robots was down to the graffiti, Case said: “Vandalism was not a factor in our decision to pause the service: this was a commercial decision and a natural conclusion to the pilot phase.” He continued: “Being from South Yorkshire, I was over the moon to be able to take our robots to Sheffield. “I’d like to thank everyone who supported us and embraced our little helpers – it was a first for Sheffield.” Comment now