SF Presses Waymo Over Stalled Robotaxis
San Francisco officials are demanding answers from Waymo after its robotaxis stalled and caused disruptions during a power outage last December. The city wants to know the cause and how the company will better manage future incidents.
The December 20 power outage, caused by a fire at a PG&E substation, cut electricity to about a third of San Francisco, affecting over 130,000 customers. This widespread blackout also knocked out traffic signals, which led to the failure of numerous Waymo self-driving cars. Waymo's robotaxis logged nearly 1,600 "stoppage events" on the day of the outage. The company explained that while its vehicles are programmed to treat dark intersections as four-way stops, the sheer scale of the outage led to a spike in requests for "confirmation checks" from remote human operators, overwhelming the system and creating a backlog. The stalled vehicles blocked traffic and, in some cases, impeded emergency responders attempting to reach the substation fire. This prompted a direct call from Mayor Daniel Lurie to Waymo's CEO to get the cars off the road. At a subsequent hearing, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood led the questioning of Waymo executives about the technical failures. In response, Waymo has acknowledged that it did not meet its own standards during the incident. The company is now implementing fleet-wide software updates to provide vehicles with more context during power outages, allowing them to navigate more decisively without needing remote confirmation. They are also updating their emergency preparedness and response protocols. This was not the first time Waymo's operations have faced scrutiny in San Francisco. There have been other instances of stalled vehicles, including a three-way standoff on a narrow street and a vehicle being set on fire. These events have raised concerns among some residents and public safety officials about the readiness of autonomous vehicles for large-scale emergencies. Initially, Waymo's lawyers attempted to classify the number of stalled vehicles as a "trade secret" during an administrative rules proceeding. However, the company later disclosed the number during a tense hearing at City Hall, where executives apologized to members of the Board of Supervisors' Land Use and Transportation Committee.
