Retired Penn professor arrested for blocking Uber Eats robots
The gist
Retired Penn professor Carolyn Marvin, 78, was cited by Philadelphia police on Oct 14 for blocking an Avride delivery robot working for Uber Eats.
She says it is First Amendment protest against robots taking delivery jobs.
How it unfolded
- Mar 2026Avride delivery robots made their debut in Center City Philadelphia.
- Sep 2026Marvin confronted robots in an earlier incident on Broad Street that circulated on social media.
- Oct 14, 2026Police responded around 1:16 p.m. to a report of criminal mischief involving a robot on the 1200 block of Filbert Street near Reading Terminal Market; officers found Marvin blocking an Avride robot operating for Uber Eats, and she received a criminal violation notice after ignoring commands to step aside.