Waymo’s autonomous taxi service in San Francisco ceased operations on Saturday evening following a widespread power outage that reportedly left numerous vehicles stranded on city streets.
Multiple images and videos shared across social media platforms showed Waymo robotaxis immobilized on roadways and at intersections, causing human drivers to either wait behind them or navigate around them.
On Saturday, Waymo announced a temporary suspension of its city service due to the power failure. It was not until late Sunday afternoon that a Waymo spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that services were being reinstated.
The spokesperson stated, “The power outage yesterday was an extensive incident that led to significant traffic congestion throughout San Francisco, including non-functional traffic signals and disruptions to public transit.” They added, “Despite the considerable failure of the utility infrastructure, we are dedicated to ensuring our technology adapts to traffic conditions during such events.”
The Waymo spokesperson further emphasized the company’s focus on “rapidly incorporating the insights gained from this occurrence and our commitment to continuously earning and retaining the trust of the communities we serve.”
The blackout also disabled many of the city’s traffic signals and impacted Muni public transportation, prompting San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to advise residents to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary.
Waymo explained that while its autonomous driving systems are engineered to interpret non-operational traffic lights as four-way stops, the magnitude of Saturday’s blackout caused some robotaxis to remain motionless for an extended period while they attempted to evaluate intersections. The company also noted that most active journeys were successfully concluded.
The power disruption appears to have stemmed from a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation within the city. SFGate reported that approximately 120,000 PG&E customers were affected, and although most had their electricity restored by late Saturday, 35,000 customers were still without power by Sunday morning. PG&E’s website similarly indicated thousands of San Francisco customers remained impacted at that time.
A confidential letter from Tiger Global Management, which surfaced earlier this month, indicated that Waymo is now performing 450,000 robotaxi rides weekly, nearly double the figures previously reported by the Alphabet-owned entity in the spring.
This article has been updated to include Waymo’s announcement regarding the resumption of service.