On a cloudy recent evening in Brickell, traffic clogs the streets as commuters hurry home. At 6 p.m., 39-year-old José Torres sits on his scooter, helmet half open, scrolling through his phone while waiting for his next order. For Torres, a Cuban immigrant, delivery driving is his only source of income.
Lately, he has noticed something troubling.
Many restaurants on routes where he frequently drove in Coconut Grove and Miami Beach were closing. Some shut their doors permanently, others for a break over the summer, but the result is the same — fewer orders for drivers like him. And now, delivery robots are taking a portion of the drivers’ business, too…