The online grocery delivery company DoorDash is seeking the New Mexico Legislature’s sign-off on the deployment of small, autonomous food delivery vehicles — aka robots — to operate on local roads.
Company leaders pitched a legislative committee Tuesday on creating a new state law, potentially in the upcoming legislative session starting in January, that would enable self-driving “personal delivery devices” to legally operate in the state. DoorDash currently enables human “dashers” to earn money through its app by driving food from restaurants or items from grocery stores to customers at their homes.
David Obaidi, a member of DoorDash’s expansion and analytics team, told members of the interim Transportation and Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee during its meeting in Truth or Consequences that the company intends for its autonomous robots to “support human networks and not replace them,” specifically by having them handle short-distance deliveries that pay less than longer ones.
“These short distances, anywhere from 3 to 5 miles, may get neglected at times, or it may take a little longer to get to the customer,” Obaidi said. “That’s where Dot comes in, and that’s the sweet spot.”
Dot is a 350-lb autonomous robot that can hold up to 30 pounds of groceries and travel up to 20mph. While DoorDash has other autonomous robots, company officials told lawmakers that they currently are only trying to deploy Dot in New Mexico. Dot currently operates in Phoenix and the San Francisco area, according to the presentation.
While the company did not specify exactly when or where the robots could start roaming New Mexico streets, presenters said legislation at the next session could be a first step to deploy the robots, predominantly in urban areas that have substantial bicycle infrastructure.
The robot would rely primarily on bike lanes and operate similarly to a “cautious bicyclist,” Obaida said.
The DoorDash presenters said state legislation isn’t technically necessary for the company to deploy the robots, but said they want to work with lawmakers to ensure they are educated on and approve of the technology.
The law DoorDash wants the Legislature to pass would require insurance on device owners, restrict speeds to 10 mph near pedestrians and impose weight limits of 500 pounds for the vehicles, including cargo, according to the company’s presentation.
The company would also like the Legislature to prohibit local governments from adding extra taxes, fees or rules for the vehicles’ operations within their boundaries, except in the interest of public safety.
State Sen. Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) called the proposed prohibition on local regulations a “huge red flag” that organizations like the New Mexico Municipal League would fight “tooth and nail” during a legislative session.
Officials at the New Mexico Municipal League and the New Mexico Association of Counties did not immediately respond to Source NM’s request for comment Wednesday.
The Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year enacted legislation allowing the robots to deploy there despite concerns about the potential economic impact on gig workers like “dashers” and concerns about pedestrian safety. That law allows local governments to ban the deployment of robots if they so choose, according to a bill summary.
In Los Angeles, a video went viral last September of a collision between a different company’s delivery robot and a man’s motorized wheelchair, prompting concerns there about how the technology interacts with those with disabilities.
Kierra Phifer, Doordash’s Head of West Public Policy, told Trujillo that the local restrictions aren’t meant to “sidestep” local governments but “rather to allow us to have authority to initiate those conversations in New Mexico.”
