Pennsylvania law requires delivery robots to yield to pedestrians, yet protester still faced arrest

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old retired University of Pennsylvania professor, was arrested after blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot on a Philadelphia pavement and refusing police instructions to move. Her protest has drawn attention to concerns that delivery robots could displace human couriers and to questions about how pedestrians and robots should share public space.

Marvin says she has been blocking robots for months to start conversations and defend workers’ livelihoods, and argues that her actions are protected protest; she plans to contest the disorderly conduct citation. Uber has said its robots are intended to complement human couriers, while the article says it is unclear whether their use has eliminated delivery jobs. The article’s headline points to Pennsylvania rules requiring robots to yield to pedestrians, though the supplied text cuts off before explaining the law.