Waymo Halts Robotaxi Service Amidst San Francisco Power Outage

The Alphabet-owned company has made temporary adjustments to its service due to a power outage affecting a large portion of the city.

A screenshot posted on social media shows that Waymo informed its San Francisco customers that service was 'temporarily paused' and that 'freeway routes are unavailable.' The company's spokesperson stated,

'We are making temporary adjustments to our service while we monitor local conditions. We know riders depend on us, and we will return to normal operations as soon as possible.'"

"When TechCrunch reached out to Waymo for comment, a spokesperson clarified that the company 'decided to pause service for approx. one hour to assess the scale of the power outage affecting a large portion of San Francisco and coordinate with local officials.'"

"Power outages have affected Waymo service in the past, such as when a number of Waymo vehicles stalled on city streets during a blackout in December, and when a similar incident paralyzed traffic during a Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show on the Fourth of July."

"- The incident highlights the need for improved regulations regarding autonomous vehicles' operation during major incidents."

"- San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has called for tougher state regulations to 'adequately address how autonomous vehicles operate during major incidents, planned or not.'"

"This post has been updated with additional comment from Waymo reflecting that service has resumed, allowing riders to once again rely on the company's robotaxis in the city.