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MOBILITY - ACTION ITEM: (1) Receive a Presentation on Serve Robotics; (2) Discuss and Consider Implementation of the Service in Culver City; and (3) Provide Direction to Staff.
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Contact Person: Alicia Ide, Management Analyst, Public Works Department
Phone: (310) 253-5618
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Notification: E-Mail via GovDelivery (08/15/2025): Meetings and Agendas - Mobility Subcommittee, Parking Authority; Notify Me - Construction, Street Maintenance and Closures; Stay Informed - Bicycle & Pedestrian / Culver CityBus / Construction, Street Maintenance and Closures; Culver city Business License List, Economic Development Newsletters
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer
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RECOMMENDATION
Members receive a presentation from Serve Robotics regarding their program, discuss and consider implementation of this type of service in Culver City, and provide direction to staff.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Serve Robotics develops autonomous sidewalk delivery robots to enhance last-mile connections. By partnering with local businesses and delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, Serve provides an alternative to vehicle-based delivery.
The AI-powered robots can reduce traffic congestion, parking challenges, and air pollution. Serve's zero emissions fleet is designed with safety, equity, and local collaboration in mind, working closely with cities to achieve community goals. Serve’s model can help boost small businesses and improve customer experience.
Some of Serve's defining characteristics include Level 4 autonomy with remote supervision, and a direct integration with third party delivery platforms like Uber Eats, which enables them to scale rapidly and ensure higher volume and utilization. The robots also include safety features such as fail-safe mechanical brakes, and a full sensor suite including LIDAR and RealSense, in addition to cameras.
While other operators may be wholly reliant on teleoperations and remote piloting, Serve’s autonomy offers a redundancy to ensure that robots are able to operate safely in a multitude of situations and utilizing the most advanced sensors, ranging from LIDAR to Intel’s RealSense technology. Additionally, Serve can both integrate with numerous restaurants through UberEats, as well as by canvass individual businesses. This allows for greater delivery utilization, since there would be fewer idle times between deliveries.
Serve Robotics is a publicly traded company pioneering autonomous delivery with a strong emphasis on safety and Level 4 autonomy. Operating across four major metropolitan areas, Serve plans to deploy 2,000 delivery robots by the end of 2025. They are proud to partner with over 2,500 small businesses, as well as prominent national brands such as El Pollo Loco, Shake Shack, and Little Caesars.
Serve Robotics' proposed operational design domain (ODD) in Culver City encompasses low-speed, urban sidewalk environments with well-defined infrastructure, enabling Level 4 autonomous operation. The robots are designed to navigate safely in areas with high pedestrian activity, signalized intersections, and curb ramps. Dispatched within a short distance delivery radius, the robots typically travel an average of 1.5 miles per delivery.
Serve Robotics currently operates in cities in the region, including in West Hollywood. Serve is requesting to deploy in Culver City along two of the commercial corridors of the City - Washington/Sepulveda, and Culver/Washington - as well as up to 1.5 miles into their adjacent neighborhoods, so long as sidewalk widths are sufficient for Serve’s devices to operate.
The Subcommittee has previously received presentations from Coco Delivery on September 28, 2021 and April 11, 2024. Coco has not returned to the City to pursue service implementation.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Beyond staff utilization, there are no cost impacts at this time, however, if service is approved, permit fees would be collected.
ATTACHMENTS/ LINKS
<https://www.serverobotics.com/>
MOTION
Since this is a new technology that poses unique concerns, to allow for such operations in Culver City staff would need to develop and Council adopt specific codified regulations before it could issue Serve Robotics a permit/license to operate their vehicles/devices. Other cities have developed requirements for this type of service, which Culver City can reference.
The City Attorney would advise regarding any significant operational barriers and guide staff in development of code amendments, regulations, and permitting procedures.
Members should provide direction to staff. In particular, staff is seeking Subcommittee guidance on the following:
1. Is the City is interested in allowing this type of service, and service by Serve Robotics in particular?
2. Are there any specific conditions under which such service should operate?
3. Should staff agendize a concept presentation to the full City Council before proceeding with developing a set of permit conditions and identifying code changes that will be required?