SF Grills Waymo Over Stalled Robotaxis
San Francisco officials are demanding answers from Waymo after several of its robotaxis stalled during a December power outage, causing traffic disruptions. City leaders want to know what measures are being taken to prevent future incidents, highlighting concerns over the reliability of autonomous fleets during city emergencies.
The December 20th power outage, which impacted about a third of San Francisco, was triggered by a fire at a PG&E substation. This event disabled numerous traffic lights, leading to widespread gridlock and creating a real-world stress test for Waymo's autonomous fleet. During the blackout, Waymo vehicles were involved in nearly 1,600 "stoppage events" on December 20th alone. The company's remote operator system, which consists of 70 employees, was overwhelmed by a spike in "confirmation check" requests from the robotaxis encountering dark intersections. The stalled vehicles obstructed traffic and, in some instances, impeded emergency responders from accessing the fire at the PG&E substation. This prompted a direct response from city officials, with Mayor Daniel Lurie personally texting Waymo's co-CEO to demand the vehicles be removed from the roads. In a subsequent hearing, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood called for greater accountability, stating that Waymo's performance was "not a good response" and that the hearing aimed to set a precedent for other autonomous vehicle companies operating in the city. Waymo publicly acknowledged that it "did not meet our standards" and attributed the issue to the unprecedented scale of the outage. The company explained that while its vehicles are programmed to treat inoperable signals as four-way stops, the sheer volume of incidents created a system backlog. Initially, Waymo declined to disclose the number of stalled vehicles during an administrative rules proceeding, claiming the information was a "trade secret," which drew criticism from a judge. This incident has amplified ongoing concerns from San Francisco officials about the reliability of robotaxis during emergencies, reviving discussions that took place before the state approved the expansion of commercial robotaxi services. In response to the incident, Waymo has committed to rolling out fleet-wide software updates to provide vehicles with more context during large-scale outages, allowing them to navigate more decisively and improve emergency response protocols.
