SF Officials Grill Waymo Over Stalled Robotaxis
San Francisco supervisors are demanding answers from Waymo after its robotaxis stalled during a power outage in December. Officials want to know the cause of the failure and what the company is doing to prevent it from happening again.
The December 20th power outage in San Francisco, caused by a fire at a PG&E substation, resulted in nearly 1,600 "stoppage events" for Waymo's robotaxi fleet. This widespread failure left autonomous vehicles stranded in intersections, obstructing traffic and, in some cases, impeding emergency responders. The core of the issue was not a complete system failure, but rather an overload of a safety feature. Waymo's vehicles are programmed to treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops but can request a "confirmation check" from a remote human operator to ensure safety. The sheer number of dark intersections created a massive backlog for the 70 remote operators on duty, leaving many cars in a state of limbo. During a tense hearing at City Hall, Supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Myrna Melgar, Chyanne Chen, and Alan Wong grilled Waymo executives for over an hour. Supervisor Mahmood highlighted the severity of the situation, stating that the stalled Waymos disrupted emergency vehicles from accessing the substation fire that caused the outage in the first place. City officials reported difficulty in reaching Waymo during the chaotic evening, with contact only being established after Mayor London Breed's office made a personal call. In response to the incident, Waymo publicly apologized for the communication gaps and for not meeting their own standards during the outage. Waymo has since committed to implementing fleet-wide software updates. These updates aim to provide the vehicles with more context about large-scale power failures, which should allow them to navigate darkened intersections more "decisively" without overwhelming remote operators. The incident has amplified concerns from groups like the Teamsters Joint Council 7, who argue that this event underscores ongoing safety issues with autonomous vehicles and their potential to interfere with emergency response. It has also spurred city officials to explore increased regulations for autonomous vehicle operations, particularly during emergencies.
