Waymo suspends service in San Francisco after power outage leaves robotaxis stranded



Waymo, a self-driving car company from Google, operates robotaxi in several cities, including San Francisco. However, due to a planned power outage in San Francisco, Waymo's robotaxi became stuck at an intersection, causing a major traffic jam, so the company decided to temporarily suspend its service in San Francisco.

Waymo halts service during SF blackout after causing traffic jams
https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-waymo-halts-service-blackout/

Waymo suspends service amid widespread blackout-related disruption
https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/20/waymo-sf-blackout-robotaxi-traffic-jams/

Waymo suspends service in San Francisco as robotaxis stall during blackout | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/21/waymo-suspends-service-in-san-francisco-as-robotaxis-stall-during-blackout/



On Saturday, December 20, 2025, Pacific Gas & Electric Company , the natural gas and electricity supplier for the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of Northern California, implemented a rolling blackout. Traffic lights went out across the city, causing confusion and stranding Waymo robotaxis at intersections.

A number of videos of Waymo robotaxis stranded in the streets of San Francisco have been posted on X (formerly Twitter).




'Broken down Waymos blocking roads all over San Francisco. Power outage.'




'Six Waymos are stuck at a broken light, blocking the road. It seems they weren't trained to deal with a power outage.'




A row of Waymo robotaxis stranded on the road




Waymo's robotaxis cause massive traffic jams.




The traffic jams seem to occur from daytime to night.




On Saturday, December 20, 2025, Waymo announced that it had temporarily suspended its service in San Francisco due to a power outage. Waymo spokesperson Suzanne Fillion told technology media outlet TechCrunch, 'Due to a widespread power outage in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have temporarily suspended Waymo's ride-hailing service. The Waymo team is working closely with city officials to monitor the stability of our infrastructure and hopes to resume service soon. We appreciate your patience and cooperation. We will provide an update as the situation improves.'

Waymo did not explain why the outage had such a significant impact on its robotaxis, but TechCrunch wrote, 'One possible reason is that the outage caused many of the city's traffic lights to go offline. In fact, the outage affected both traffic lights and public transportation systems like the San Francisco Municipal Transit System , and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie warned residents not to use the roads unless necessary.'

Some have also pointed out that the unstable mobile phone network at the time of the traffic jam may have contributed to the congestion caused by the robotaxis.

The San Francisco Standard , a local media outlet, reported, 'Waymo frequently touts data showing its vehicles are safer than human drivers, but Waymo's robotaxis rely on infrastructure outside its control, and there is a risk that instability in factors such as the power grid could disrupt operations.'

・Continued
Waymo explains why robot taxis stopped working during a power outage - GIGAZINE

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in AI,   Vehicle, Posted by logu_ii