A cheeky — and apologetic — ad for delivery robots has popped up at the West Town bus shelter damaged by one of those robots.
The ad comes almost a month after a Serve Robotics delivery robot named Nasir crashed into that bus shelter near North Racine and West Grand avenues, shattering a glass panel.
“Dear West Town neighbors, I took ‘breaking into the market’ too literally. I’m really sorry about the bus stop … and the dramatic entrance. I promise to do better,” the ad reads. It features a photo of the sheepish robot with a digital screen saying ‘Nasir is sorry.’
After the incident, Serve Robotics worked with JC Decaux, the advertising company that built the shelter, to clean up the damages. The shelter was fixed within a few days after the crash.
Spotted on Grand at the bus shelter that previously was damaged by a delivery robot. pic.twitter.com/qPSwIEAGQU
— Grace Miserocchi (@gracemiserocchi) April 14, 2026
“We took out the ad to apologize directly to our West Town neighbors, own the mistake, and share Serve’s commitment to continuously improving our technology,” Serve Robotics said in a statement.
The company said the crash occurred after all three of the robot’s sensor systems failed to detect the shelter’s clear glass wall. Serve added that it has improved how the system interprets glass environments and is updating its software and next-generation hardware to “make detection more reliable.”
Though the incidents are rare, “rare isn’t good enough,” Serve said. “We want it to be zero. We’re working closely with the City of Chicago and sharing what we’ve learned so the system continues to improve everywhere we operate.”
A similar incident happened the same week in Old Town involving a delivery robot from a different company, Coco Robotics. That robot shattered the glass of a bus shelter at Larrabee Street and North Avenue.
A Serve Robotics delivery robot crashes into a CTA bus shelter in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, shattering the glass panel, March 2026. pic.twitter.com/ZtGmOsRdku
— Future Adam Curtis B-Roll (@adamcurtisbroll) March 24, 2026
Video of both crashes went viral on social media. While some users found humor in the unfortunate incidents, others were worried about people’s safety.
Opponents of the delivery robots started a petition last summer to call on the city to pause the sidewalk robot program until it released safety findings on the devices and set rules for how they’re deployed. As of March 27, the petition had received over 4,000 signatures from more than 55 ZIP codes across the city.
Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics are operating robots on Chicago’s north and west sides under a pilot program the City Council passed in 2022. Coco came to town in 2024, and Serve started deploying its fleet last September.
Coco’s robots are always virtually monitored by a human, while Serve’s largely drive themselves, with humans stepping in when necessary.
Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani told WBEZ that he’s aware of the pushback and the company is open to engaging with concerned Chicagoans.
“People can reach out to us,” Kashani said. “Every email is responded to.”