West Hollywood Approves Use of Delivery Robots

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Monday, December 1, the West Hollywood City Council met and voted 4 to 1 to allow the use of delivery robots, also known as personal delivery devices (PDD), in the city. The decision formalizes operating agreements between West Hollywood and the companies Serve and Coco, which will start on January 1, 2026. It creates a permanent program that will raise the compliance threshold for the use of such robots under the Americans with Disabilities Act. These agreements will require the companies that make the robots to conduct regular accessibility audits of their robots and will subject them to more substantial penalties for robots that block the right of way and control the number of robots that can be deployed in West Hollywood. All the money that will be raised from advertising fees, operating fees, and penalties for violation of the agreement will be used to upgrades to make West Hollywood more accessible for disabled individuals. Under this agreement, the personal delivery machines will only be allowed to operate between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Also, the machines will need to linked to the West Hollywood’s City Service system so that reports of stalled robots or ones that are blocking sidewalks can be reported. The Disabilities Advisory Board voted against the use of robots due to concerns that the sidewalks and intersections are to narrow for the robots and wheelchairs to safely pass through.   By Daniel Diquinzio