Waymo temporarily halted its robotaxi operations in San Francisco over the weekend after a widespread power outage disrupted traffic signals and caused a number of its self-driving vehicles to stop on public roads, underscoring the vulnerability of autonomous systems to large-scale infrastructure failures.
Images and videos circulating on social media on Saturday showed Waymo vehicles stalled at intersections and along busy streets, with human drivers forced to wait behind them or navigate around the stationary cars. The Alphabet-owned company confirmed it suspended service that evening before gradually resuming operations late Sunday.
See also: Waymo Partners with DoorDash to Launch Driverless Deliveries
The blackout disabled traffic lights across parts of the city and disrupted public transportation, prompting city officials to urge residents to avoid unnecessary travel. Waymo said its vehicles are designed to treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops, but the scale and complexity of the outage led some robotaxis to pause longer than usual while assessing intersections.
The company said most passenger trips that were underway at the time of the outage were completed successfully and that it is reviewing the incident to improve how its systems respond to similar situations in the future, as it continues to expand commercial operations.
See also: Tesla Tests Pedal-free Cybercab on Public Streets Ahead of Planned Robotaxi Expansion
Local media reported that the outage was caused by a fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation, affecting around 120,000 customers at its peak, with tens of thousands still without power into Sunday. The disruption comes as Waymo continues to scale its service, with a recently leaked investor letter indicating the company is now providing roughly 450,000 robotaxi rides per week.
Source: TechCrunch