Virginia gives green light to more robot deliveries
The Virginia General Assembly has passed legislation which will permit delivery robots to use sidewalks and shared-used paths across the Commonwealth – “unless otherwise prohibited by a locality”. Introduced by Delegate Ronald A. Villanueva, HB 2016 was passed by the House and Senate on Friday (24 February) and has reportedly also been signed into law by the governor.
According to its official billing on the Virginia’s Legislative Information System (LIS), HB 2016 “Allows for the operation of electric personal delivery devices on the sidewalks and shared-use paths and across roadways on crosswalks in the Commonwealth unless otherwise prohibited by a locality. The bill directs that such devices shall not be considered vehicles and are exempt from the motor carrier provisions of Title 46.2 (Motor Vehicles).”
As previously reported by Post&Parcel, in June 2016 the District of Columbia’s city council gave the go-ahead for Starship Technologies to test its delivery robots on the streets of Washington DC.
Starship, which has been running tests in Washington DC with Postmates, is understood to supported the legislation – and Amazon and GrubHub also reportedly sent letter of support.
State laws for robot delivery systems have also been proposed in Idaho and Florida.
