Leeds delivery robots: Starship grocery run trial extended after council reports early success

The Starship service, which was launched in November for an initial three months, for 20,000 residents in Adel and Tinshill, has now been extended through to June.

Leeds City Council agreed to continue the trial after 75 per cent of participants said they felt positive about the robots, which bring supermarket goods.

The council did however, confirm that it did not plan to extend the service to other areas of the city at this stage.

A spokesperson said: “The initial Starship delivery robot trial took place between 30th November 2022 and 4th March 2023. During that period, 420 people gave their feedback on the rollout of robots in Adel and Tinshill.

“After receiving a lot positive feedback from the public, the Council were happy to extend the trial in the same area for another three months from 4th March 2023 to 3rd June 2023.

"A longer trial is needed to help better understand the impact this service has on our communities. It will allow us to collect more information on how it can reduce carbon emissions, and help us to tackle the Climate Emergency.”

Council partnered with the Co-op and Starship Technologies to launch the project – with the robots introduced to help reduce the number of short journeys made by car.

Two Co-op stores have taken part in the scheme thus far with local Adel and Tinshill residents describing the robots as “very entertaining.”