Waymo Announces Resumption of San Francisco Service Following Hour-Long Interruption
Waymo has announced that its robotaxi operations have restarted after implementing “temporary adjustments” in San Francisco, which experienced a power outage impacting around 7,000 customers of PG&E.
A screenshot shared on social media indicated that Waymo informed customers in San Francisco that service had been “temporarily paused” and that routes on freeways were currently not accessible.
When contacted for comment, a representative from Waymo stated, “We are making temporary adjustments to our service while we assess local conditions. We understand our riders rely on us, and we aim to resume normal operations as soon as we can.”
After the article’s initial release, Waymo confirmed that it chose to halt service for approximately one hour in order to evaluate the impact of the widespread power outage across San Francisco and to coordinate with local authorities.
In the past, power outages have disrupted Waymo’s service—most notably when several of its vehicles became immobilized on city streets during a blackout last December, and again during the traffic chaos caused by fireworks on the Golden Gate Bridge on July Fourth.
In light of these incidents, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has advocated for stronger state regulations to effectively manage the operation of autonomous vehicles during significant events, whether planned or unexpected.
This article has been updated to reflect Waymo’s confirmation that service has resumed.
