Waymo service has been suspended in San Francisco after a widespread power outage left many robotaxis paralyzed, causing major traffic disruptions across the city.
Videos taken across the city showed the robotaxis stalled out or blocking intersections, compounding gridlock. The power outages have also shut down stoplights, adding to the traffic chaos.
“We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work,” Waymo spokesperson Suzanne Philion said in a statement.
Videos posted to social media (opens in new tab) and shared with The Standard have shown stalled (opens in new tab) Waymos causing chaos in the street, and nearly causing collisions. Drivers reported long delays in getting across the city, at least partly as a result of stuck Waymos blocking traffic lanes.
Waymo did not provide an explanation as to why its vehicles were impacted by the blackout. It’s possible that the disruptions to traffic signals and traffic data the robotaxis normally receive wirelessly triggered safety protocol that led them to stop.
The widespread havoc shows the vulnerability of a city when fleets of autonomous vehicles are responsible for an increasing percentage of its traffic patterns, as in San Francisco.
While Waymo has often touted the safety record of its vehicles when compared to human drivers, the robotaxis are reliant on infrastructure out of the company’s control and risk disruptions to their operations when one of those elements — such as the power grid — falter.
Around a third of the city lost power after a fire at Pacific Gas and Electric substation at 8th and Mission Streets Saturday afternoon that was later contained by the fire department. Neighborhoods affected include the Sunset and Richmond Districts, along with Haight-Ashbury, Pacific Heights, and the Presidio.
As of late Saturday, PG&E said 9.7% of customers remained without power.
In a social media post Mayor Daniel Lurie asked residents to “please stay off the roads and stay inside” due to inoperative traffic lights. He said the city is sending law enforcement officers to busy intersections and corridors.
