Waymo Cars Halted in San Francisco Power Outage, Pausing Ride Service
Waymo, the company behind autonomous ride-hailing vehicles, faced disruptions during a significant power outage in San Francisco. Many residents shared images online of Waymo vehicles stalled at intersections, unable to respond to non-functioning traffic signals.
Power Outage and Ride-Hailing Service Suspension
On Saturday evening, Waymo announced via its app that it would pause its ride service due to the power outage affecting the region. This outage crippled transit operations and caused widespread confusion as traffic signals failed.
By 6 p.m. on Sunday, Waymo confirmed that it had resumed operations in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a statement, the company said, “We are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.” They emphasized their collaboration with city officials to improve their service response during disruptions.
Impact of the Outage
The power outage started shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday, affecting over 130,000 customers in San Francisco. The outages caused significant gridlock in downtown areas, as traffic lights at key intersections were inoperative. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised drivers to treat non-functioning signals as four-way stops.
Restoration Efforts
- Power restoration commenced Sunday morning for most affected locations.
- PG&E reported that the outage was linked to a fire at a substation on 8th and Mission streets.
- Officials expect full power restoration by Monday afternoon.
PG&E has mobilized additional engineers and electricians to assist in the restoration, acknowledging the complexity involved in the repairs. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported in connection to the incident.
This widespread outage raised questions about infrastructure reliability. It highlighted the necessity of efficient responses to significant events to maintain public trust in both utility and ride-hailing services.
