Video: Food Delivery Robots Cause Brutal Traffic Jam in Brickell

If you thought Miami traffic couldn’t get any worse, allow me to introduce you to our newest residents: a small army of food delivery robots who have absolutely no interest in your right of way — even if you’re an ambulance in Brickell.

Yes, the delivery robots that have flooded the sidewalks of downtown, Brickell, Coral Gables, and even Coconut Grove since this summer are now street legal. They’re bolder than ever, and they are very committed to causing unhinged gridlock across the 305.

Over the past week, these small, white (and sometimes pink and cute) delivery bots have been spotted everywhere, from downtown to Brickell, interrupting commutes, stopping cars, and, in one hilarious video, forcing an ambulance to honk as if begging the robot to have some human decency and move aside. In another video, a Brickell police officer can be seen slowly trying to maneuver around one of them, as if avoiding a toddler having a meltdown in the grocery store aisle.

Miami, we are living in a simulation.

Brickell Enters Its Robot Delivery Era (and the Video Is Hilarious)

Naturally, the internet wasted no time. On Only in Dade’s Instagram Reel, which they captioned, “The future is here, and it’s blocking the ambulance,” people are already a mix of fed up and delighted. One user asked, “Don’t they usually ride on the sidewalks?” which prompted another Miami sage to reply, “I used to see them only on the sidewalks, then last week I saw one of them on the road for the first time.”

Enter another local who spoke for all of us: “No bueno; we have had enough with Miami drivers, bicycles, scooters, now also robots? De pinga!”

Meanwhile, some Miami residents defended the little guy. In the same video of the robot scurrying across the road, someone commented: “Honestly, he got out of the way faster than those cars.” Another woman commented, “She’s so cute!” (This is because the robot is light pink with a little heart-shaped, red flag poking from the lid.)

And honestly? Fair. If you’ve ever driven in Brickell at 5 p.m., you know a robot doing anything literally at all is probably outperforming at least half the cars around it.

But Behind the LOLs… This Is Actually a Miami Labor Story

Last month, New Times published a major feature by Luis Pascal on the growing crisis facing real, human delivery drivers. Between rising costs, restaurant closures, shrinking profits, and now robot competition, many drivers have seen their incomes cut in half.

The article spotlighted people like José Torres, a Cuban immigrant who relies entirely on deliveries to support his family back home. It told the story of drivers like Modesto Espinal, instantly recognizable to anyone who’s ever waited outside a Brickell high-rise as scooters cluster at the valet stand. These are workers hustling through unpredictable pay, unstable routes, and an increasingly competitive gig economy, where even a few closed restaurants can significantly impact someone’s weekly income.

And now…they’re sharing the road with small, fearless robots who do not understand what a turn signal is.

So while Miami is busy arguing about whether delivery robots belong on the sidewalk, on the street, or deep in the Everglades where they can live free among the gators, the truth is that their presence highlights something bigger — a rapidly changing delivery economy where human drivers are paying the price.

Miami’s Future: A Little Human, A Little Robot, A Lot of Honking

Experts say that robots won’t fully replace drivers anytime soon. They only function well in dense, walkable areas like Brickell, and they can’t climb stairs, get past fussy valets, or figure out where exactly in your luxury condo you meant by “leave at door.”

However, their growing presence and the viral mayhem they cause every time they roll into traffic, as if they own Brickell and downtown, reflects a very real shift in how food reaches our doors.

For now, if a tiny robot wants to pick a fight with Miami traffic, I say let it. (Just don’t make it block an ambulance again. We’re not ready for that headline.)